April in Paris
by PD4758PW
Summary: Perry and Della end up in Paris at the end of "TCOT Betrayed Bride". In the television show, Perry says that they are there because their client Marie needed help explaining her ordeal to her parents. So have you ever wondered why it was necessary for Perry to bring Della along to Paris? I hope my story will explain that.
1. Chapter 1

The characters created by Erle Stanley Gardner are brought together again for another adventure of Perry Mason. I'm borrowing Perry Mason, Della Street, Paul Drake, and a few others from the television series that ran for nine seasons from 1957 to 1966. Some of this story takes up where TCOT Betrayed Bride ends - (Season #8 Episode #5, overall episode #216 – story written by John Elliotte). Don't fret if you haven't seen that episode – I'll include bits and pieces of it in this story – interjecting some of my own fiction to make this work. Even though this episode aired in October 1964, I've changed the year that this story takes place to 1960. This story is really not considered a "sequel" to my other stories, but there may be subtle references to them. My stories are all intermingled somehow in my Perry & Della world. Enjoy!

 **Chapter One**

The swanky law office of Perry Mason in downtown Los Angeles was always busy after closing out another major legal battle. On this beautiful April day in 1960, the office receptionist, the perky Gertie Lade, was busy on the telephone taking messages in the outer office. Perry Mason's confidential secretary, the beautiful and highly efficient Della Street, was in her office adjacent to Perry's inner domain sorting paperwork from the latest murder trial. There were always two office doors to get through before anyone could get in to see Perry Mason, the renowned defense attorney. His reputation for a fair and satisfactory outcome in a Court of Law brought him clients from all walks of life.

There were the impoverished, down-on-their-luck clients who turned up in the wrong place at the wrong time only to be charged with crimes up to and including murder. Perry Mason enjoyed the challenge to defend just about anyone – especially if his gut instinct told him the client was innocent of the charges. He had an unofficial sliding-fee scale for his services, so even clients that could not normally afford to hire him made promises to pay him back somehow if he would take the case.

There were also the rich and famous whose lives took twists and turns as they tried to protect their fortunes and family reputations, but invariably got caught up in schemes that led to mayhem. Perry Mason would take care of their quandary – and like all of his cases he would work hard to bring out the truth of the matter.

So there were just two layers of office personnel screening would-be clients to get in to see the great Perry Mason. Only two layers – _if_ you enter his kingdom through the main entrance to the office. But if you are a close friend and associate of Mr. Mason, like the Private Detective extraordinaire Paul Drake, you can sneak in the back door – a private entrance through a back hallway. And most often, a secret rhythmic knock on the door will get the attention of Della Street, or the great Perry Mason himself – but only if you're Paul Drake.

As Della walked into Perry's unoccupied office with the morning mail and a stack of legal documents, Paul rapped his knuckles on the private entry door. Della grinned at the "Shave and a Haircut" melody knock and detoured from Perry's desk to unlock the door to let Paul inside. "Hello Paul. What brings you in here so early?"

Paul quickly glanced at the time on his wristwatch then gave Della his usual flirty reply. "Well aside from wanting to see your beautiful face today, I thought I'd catch Perry here before I head out of town. Is he in?" From the first day that he met Della, Paul would always be a good, protective friend to her. He could tease her like a big brother would tease his little sister, and he knew her heart belonged to Perry Mason. He made his way over to the conference table to help himself to a cup of coffee and a pastry from a pile that Della had set out earlier.

"He's not here yet, but I expect him any time now." She saw him helping himself to the coffee and pastries.

"Gee, help yourself, Paul," she told him sarcastically.

Paul just grinned knowing that she was teasing him. "Don't mind if I do!"

Della was busy sorting the paperwork and laying it out on Perry's desk. She read over a billing invoice from the stack of paperwork and began to chuckle.

With a cup of coffee in one hand and a raspberry danish roll in the other, Paul made his way over to Perry's desk to look over her shoulder and find out what Della found so amusing. "What's so funny?"

Della showed Paul the invoice. "It's the repair bill for Perry's car – the one that Marie Claudet crashed into the utility pole in that alley in Glendale..." With her right hand on her hip, she paused looking away from the document and thought about how difficult it was for her and Paul to talk Perry into defending Marie when she was charged with murder. "He was so angry when she stole his car but then he tried to stay so nonchalant when talking about the entire situation."

Paul read over the bill and whistled. "Wow! Repairs don't come cheap! I thought he was selling it after it was fixed."

Della nodded. "He did. He traded it in on a new one. That's probably why he's a little late getting in here today. He was returning the rental car and picking up his new car."

Licking his fingers after stuffing the last bite of his pastry in his mouth, Paul reached into his suit coat pocket to pull out his three-page expense report. "Oh! That reminds me. Here you go, Beautiful. My expense report... This time all of the I's are dotted and the T's are crossed. Do you think I can get a check today?"

The report was handed to Della and she began looking it over right away. Scanning it quickly then flipping the top page over to the second page, Della raised an eyebrow and looked at Paul who was helping himself to another pastry. "What in the world is this line, Paul? 'Steak au poivre and coq au vin'? How can you justify a forty-five dollar meal at Allard?"

Paul stopped chewing what was left of the pastry and swallowed hard. "I can easily explain that. It was either meet my contact at Benoit or Allard. I was closer to Allard that night. While waiting for my contact, I just happened to strike up a conversation with a lovely _Mademoiselle_ at the bar. Eventually I met with my contact, and after he left, I couldn't just let that beautiful doll dine there all by herself... It was _Paris_ , Della!"

Della furrowed her brow. "But forty-five dollars for just one meal? That's normally a whole week's worth of breakfast, lunch, and dinner. Perry will flip when he sees this whole report..."

"What whole report will I flip over?" Perry briskly walked into his office and placed his briefcase down on his desk.

Della gleefully handed Perry the report and moved away from his desk chair so he could sit down and read the report. "It's Paul's latest expense report for Marie Claudet's case... I'll get you a cup of coffee..."

Paul immediately defended his report. "I was very careful to separate the expenses I incurred from the trip to Paris that Jimmy Meacham made me take, and the trip that you asked me to take. And this time I kept receipts with dates, times, and places on them..."

Perry interrupted Paul right away. "A twelve-dollar long distance phone call to _me_? Wasn't that the call you made to _me_ asking _me_ to stop by Jimmy's place on my way home one night because _you_ couldn't make contact with _him_? That twelve-dollar long distance call was just the start of a messy night leading to a perplexing court case." Perry tossed the report aside on his desk and gratefully accepted the cup of coffee from Della.

Paul shrugged his shoulders and sat down at the conference table. "Okay... So there's one minor twelve-dollar error. Just write me a check for half of the expense report total today. I'll just let your adept secretary edit the report and you can pay me the rest when I get back in town..."

Perry sipped from the coffee cup placed in front of him. "Get _back_ in town? Where are you off to now?"

As Paul reached for another pastry, Della quickly stepped over to the conference table in time to playfully slap Paul's hand.

"Ouch!" Paul grinned at Della but turned back to Perry with another pastry in his hand. "I'm hoping to be over the border in Mexico with Barbara by this evening. And it would be nice to have a little extra spending money on this trip..."

Della just rolled her eyes at Paul and walked back to Perry's desk with a pastry on a plate for him. "Isn't Barbara the girl that only agreed to go out on a date with you when she thought that you were an airline pilot?"

"Oh, what difference does that make? That was several months ago. And now she's going to Mexico with me this afternoon – but only if I can afford to be away from this rat race for a couple of days..." Paul devoured the pastry and impatiently tapped his fingers on the table waiting for a check.

Perry just grinned and wiped his fingers on a napkin when Della placed the office check register in front of him. He began writing a check but then quickly glanced at the expense report again. "Forty-five dollars for one meal at Allard? From now on I'll have to find another private detective agency that can get by with meals from a hotdog vendor on the street..."

Paul continued to anxiously tap his fingers on the table. "Just write the check, please. Barbara is waiting..."

Wanting to torment Paul just a little longer, Perry delayed writing the check. He was really curious now and needed to learn a little more about Barbara. "You've been seeing Barbara pretty exclusively these past few months... This sounds serious, Paul... Do you think she's the one?"

Della found the conversation amusing and enjoyed the teasing that Paul was receiving. She pried in with Perry's inquiry. "Has our wandering boy suddenly decided to settle down with one special girl?"

Perry put his pen down and leaned back in his chair folding his arms across his chest. "I'm not sure, Della. Our wandering boy has had other long-term relationships – one that I know of that lasted nearly _two_ months..." Della sat down in her chair next to Perry with a big smile on her face.

"Very funny, my loyal friends. They're looking for comedians at the Improv if you're looking for better things to do at night aside from chasing down leads for all of your court cases. Do I need to come over there and write the check myself?" Paul patted down his pockets to find a lighter for the cigarette he'd dug out from the pack in his shirt pocket.

Perry relented and resumed writing Paul's check. "I suppose you've earned every penny – especially flying back and forth to Paris leaving your girl Barbara back here to spend her evenings all alone... I wonder if your friend Jimmy Meacham was available to entertain Barbara while you were away working for him?"

Paul scowled at Perry. "My friend Jimmy has the hots for Marie Claudet, so I'm not worried about him." He took a long drag on his cigarette and slowly exhaled the smoke. "Will you just sign the check already? Please?"

Perry grinned as he finished writing the check. "Here you go, Paul. Have fun in Mexico."

Paul stood up to leave as he watched Perry tear the check from the register and hand it to him. "Thanks! It's been my pleasure serving you." He smiled and nodded to both of them. "Now don't call me, I'll call you! I'm out of here!"

Della stood up to follow Paul to the back door. "Goodbye, Paul. Have a nice time!"

Paul smiled back at Della but before he could walk out the door, Perry had one quick sarcastic reminder for him. "Go easy on the hot sauce down there, Paul."

The door closed after Paul shook his head and muttered, "Oh brother," while walking out.

Della walked back to Perry at his desk and placed the stack of mail in front of him. "We shouldn't tease Paul so much about Barbara. She sounds like a very nice lady."

Perry grinned and shook his head. "He knows we're just giving him a hard time."

"I hope so..." Della got right back to business. "If you'll look through the mail right away, after that's done, we can start clearing out the pile to your left so I can close out the Claudet case." She picked up the check register to put it away.

Perry was slowly sipping his coffee while thumbing through the stack of mail. He looked up to Della and put his coffee cup down. "By the way, I placed the new car invoice on your desk to be filed. But can we look at this stuff later? Right now I'd rather look at our schedule for the next few weeks."

With her free hand moving to her hip, Della held the papers in her other hand across her chest. "Well for the rest of this week, we'll close out the Claudet case and catch up on the CorPac lawsuit. What am I missing? You rarely plan anything three weeks out."

A sly grin came across Perry's face which he tried to hide by sipping from his coffee cup again. "CorPac is nearly a done deal with an out-of-court settlement that I proposed over the phone with their legal team late yesterday. And we can close out Miss Claudet's file today. If there's nothing else important on the schedule, I think a trip to Paris would be just what we need..."

With a puzzled look on her face, Della sat down in her chair next to Perry. "A trip to Paris? Now?"

"Why not now? April in Paris? I think it's the perfect time of year to visit Paris." Perry was doing his best to sell Della on the idea since he had big plans for them in Paris. He just wanted to keep those plans secret for the time being. "Marie Claudet's parents are still concerned about Marie's court trial for murder. They still don't understand everything that was involved in the trial. Marie is flying back to Paris the day after tomorrow. I think we should escort her back to Paris and meet with her parents to explain what she's been through."

Della still wasn't sold on the idea. "Well have a nice trip, Counselor. I don't mind holding down the fort here while you spend most of April in Paris..."

Perry wasn't about to give up that easily. "Nonsense, Della. We need a vacation and I won't take no for an answer. I've already begun making some of the arrangements – I just need to clear up our calendar. Now let's get through this stack of mail - and anything else you need for me to look over, then we'll make plans to be in Paris for the next three weeks."

Della continued to protest. "Perry, I can't possibly go away right now. And especially for three weeks! I've been _so_ looking forward to next week's start of the Community-Ed art class that I signed up for... Why don't we just stick to our vacation plans that we made for June?"

Perry spun his desk chair around to face Della and put his hands firmly on her shoulders. "All right – I'll come clean. I know all about your Community-Ed art class... But what _you_ don't know is that I decided to enroll you in a better art class... At the _Académie_ _des Beaux-Arts_ in Paris - compliments of our one-time client, the famous financier Pierre David-Weill."

An astonished Della slouched back in her chair. "Are you serious?" She shook her head. "No, you can't be serious... You're teasing me again aren't you?"

Perry slowly shook his head. "I'd never kid you about your birthday present." He pulled her towards him and gently kissed her lips. "Happy birthday a little early, baby!"

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It was nearly seven o'clock the next evening when Perry walked another client out of his office into Della's office. Della was sitting at her desk using a paperclip to fasten some papers together and looked up to Perry and the client.

"Della, would you please give Mr. Arnault a power-of-attorney form to sign?"

"Right away, Mr. Mason." Della put aside the file that she was working on, stood up to open her filing cabinet and brought out the form. She placed the form on the edge of her desk and handed the client a pen. "I'll fill in all of your pertinent information later. You just need to sign right here, Mr. Arnault." She pointed to a line near the bottom of the document and made eye contact with Perry while Arnault signed his name.

Perry winked at Della, then watched from over Arnault's shoulder as he signed the form. He gathered the form in his hand when Arnault returned the pen to Della. "That's all that I need from you right now, Mr. Arnault. I'll have the necessary paperwork signed on your behalf while I'm in Paris and meet with you when I return."

Arnault turned to shake Perry's hand. "Very well, Mr. Mason. Thank you for your time on such short notice. Good night!" Arnault nodded to Della. "Good night Miss Street."

Della smiled at him as Arnault turned to leave the office. "Good night."

When he heard the entry door to the main office close, Perry walked through Gertie's vacant office and locked the entry door. He returned to Della's office. "Finally! We're closed for the day. I'll bet you're starving! Where may I take you to dinner?"

Sitting in her chair at her desk, Della straightened a stack of papers and tapped them on their edge so she could fasten them together. "Before we talk about dinner plans, do you want to tell me what important legal matter you'll be taking care of in Paris for Mr. Arnault?"

Perry sat on the edge of Della's desk. "We'll simply be settling the tax dispute of his deceased father's estate. It will require a ten minute visit to an attorney's office in Paris and save Mr. Arnault a long trip to Paris which he thinks will cause him great anguish. Now where am I taking you to dinner?"

After a quick glance at her watch, Della sighed. "I still have a few minor things to take care of here. And I never made it over to the travel agency to pick up the travel documents yet... They're probably closed by now."

After reaching into his inner suit coat pocket, Perry brought out a long, thick envelope. "I have our plane tickets right here. Marie Claudet's flight leaves before ours and she has all of her documents. And while you ran those briefs over to the Callahan Law office earlier, I dug out our passports from your file cabinet so we, my dear girl, are ready to leave for Paris tomorrow." He got up and walked around her desk to remove her sweater from the back of her chair. "Now put your sweater on, lock your desk drawer, and tell me where I'm taking you to dinner."

Della stood up while Perry helped her to put her sweater on. "Maybe we should eat something light for dinner. When we're in Paris eating all of that heavy, rich food I'll probably gain ten pounds!" She picked up her purse and locked her desk drawer.

Perry smiled and gently patted her behind. "That will be fine with me! Just more of you to love. Let's go and find a petit filet mignon steak for you!"

Della protested slightly as they walked out of the office. "Even a petit filet mignon might be too much..."

Perry locked the office door behind them and took Della's arm to walk to the elevator. "Nonsense. I want your stomach full tonight. I don't want to lay in bed with you and listen to your stomach growling all night."

Della chuckled and leaned into him with her head tilted on his shoulder while they walked. "The sounds from my tummy can't be that loud! Now stop teasing me and tell me if we're staying at your place or mine tonight..."

 **TBC**

All comment and reviews are welcome. Thanks for reading!


	2. Chapter 2

**Chapter Two**

The Los Angeles International Airport was bustling with activity as Perry and Della patiently waited to board their nonstop flight to Paris. Departing and arriving airline passengers filled the huge terminal as airplanes outside slowly jockeyed for a place at a gate. The airline gate agent made the announcement over the loudspeaker that the flight to Paris was now boarding. Perry and Della made their way towards the ticket agent - their tickets in Perry's hand, both toting small carry-on bags for the long flight. As they climbed the steps and entered the newer Boeing 707 aircraft, Perry stepped aside for Della to board in front of him.

The smiley stewardess greeted Della as she walked onboard. "Hello. Welcome aboard. Let me know if you'll need help stowing your bag."

Della smiled back at her, thanked the stewardess, and told her she would manage fine on her own. Della glanced up at the seat numbers as she walked down the aisle in the first-class section of the aircraft and paused by her seat row waiting for Perry to follow.

As Perry stepped onboard, the demeanor of the petit, attractive, blond stewardess changed immediately. "Hello, Mr. Mason! Welcome aboard! Let me help you get settled into your seat..." She smiled adoringly at him and reached her white-gloved hand up to adjust the tilt of her pale-blue pillbox uniform hat.

"Thank you, Miss, but that won't be necessary." Perry quickly looked her up and down, smiling, but politely kept moving down the aisle where Della was waiting by their seats.

With a raised eyebrow, Della handed Perry her small tote bag as she sat down in her seat next to the window. "Tsk, tsk, Counselor! You thought you were in for a long, boring flight. From the look of things, I think Miss ' _Coffee Tea or Me_ ' will be taking very good care of you." While still smirking she took off her gloves and tucked them away in her purse.

Perry grinned and looked back towards the stewardess whose eyes were still fixed on him while she ignored the other boarding passengers. Perry quickly looked away and took care of Della's tote bag. "But this, Miss Street, is the only way to fly – with you at my side."

After putting away his own carry-on bag, Perry sat down in his seat, reached for Della's hand, and gently squeezed it. He had only told Della that he thought the flight would be long and boring because he couldn't wait to get to Paris and put his big plans into action.

Twenty minutes into the eleven-hour, fifty-minute flight, the Captain announced that they were flying at their cruising altitude and described their flight path. "After flying over the beautiful upper midwest of the United States, we'll fly over Winnipeg, Hudson Bay, then over the ocean towards the tip of Greenland. Once we're over the United Kingdom, it will be a short distance into Paris. Enjoy the flight, ladies and gentleman, and don't hesitate to call on our wonderful flight crew to serve you. They'll make this flight as comfortable for you as they can. Thank you for flying with us!" A moment later, he made the same announcement in French.

Della leaned in to Perry right away. "I hope that the stewardess that's already been so gaga over you heard the Captain's announcement. She should know that she's also here to serve other passengers, not just the handsome attorney in seat 6C..."

Perry reached for Della's hand and brought it up to his lips for a soft kiss. "You may retract your claws, my dear. I have no interest in her at all unless she needs to evacuate us from this aircraft in an emergency. But if she finds me charming enough to hand out a few extra bags of peanuts or serve us an extra slice of meat for dinner, so be it!" He smiled at Della.

"Okay, Mr. Mason. But if I catch you flirting back with her, I'm going to ask for a tour of the cockpit so I can get to know the pilots a little better. I might even let him pin some souvenir wings on my blouse. That Captain's voice was almost as smooth-sounding as yours can be in a courtroom..." Della playfully jabbed her finger into Perry's side while Perry just smiled and shook his head.

A moment later, they both looked up at the blond stewardess and smiled as she stopped in the aisle at their seats. "Is everything okay here, sir? All okay Ma'am? May I bring you a martini or something else?"

Perry looked to Della right away and read the favorable expression on her face. He looked back up to the stewardess. "Martinis would be fine, thank you. Uh – extra dry please?"

When the stewardess left to get their drinks, Della didn't miss a beat. "I'm going to check your martini glass for her shade of lipstick on it before you sip from it..."

Perry just grinned and gave Della his endearing "Humph" reply.

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By the time they were flying over Winnipeg, they'd been fed several small appetizers and a three-course meal. The effects of three martinis and a glass of red wine left both Perry and Della a little sleepy. They dozed off and when waking from their long nap ninety minutes later, they found themselves somewhere over the North Atlantic Ocean.

While Perry read the latest edition of the Wall Street Journal, Della opted for her French language book that she pulled out of her purse.

Perry closed his paper to look at Della's book. He took a hold of the book in her hand and turned it towards him to read the cover out loud. "Hmmm. ' _A Beginner's Guide to French'_? You're more fluent in French than I am aren't you?"

Shaking her head, Della corrected him. "Not so, Counselor. _You_ are the French language expert. I barely passed my high school French class. I think I'm better with the Latin that thankfully I passed in high school. Latin is more practical for me anyway when you use all of those legal terms all day in your dictations or in court... So I thought that I'd better brush up on my French. Then I'll know when you're flirting with all the beautiful _Mademoiselles_ in Paris."

" _You_ , my dear, are the only Mademoiselle I plan to flirt with in Paris or any other place in the world." Perry released his hold on the book. "Would you like me to help you with some phrases?"

Della thought over his offer. "I don't want to keep you from your Wall Street Journal..."

Perry folded the newspaper and tucked it into the pouch on the side of his seat. He smiled and held his hand out for her to hand him the book. "We can brush up on our French together."

"Merci, Monsieur!" Della smiled at him and leaned towards him in her seat.

Leaning over towards Della, Perry lightly kissed her cheek. " _Allons donc commencer, belle fille_!"

Della furrowed her brow. "I enjoyed the kiss, but didn't understand a word you just said..."

"I just said 'let's begin beautiful girl'..." Smiling, he took her hand and gently squeezed it.

"Je ai beaucoup a apprendre!" Della smiled back and hoped that she was telling him that she has a lot to learn.

After ninety minutes of studying French, they were able to speak back and forth and understand some very basic phrases. They put the language book away and stood up to stretch for a while before being served another light snack with red wine. By this time, the flirty stewardess had been giving more of her attention to the attractive doctor seated in seat 1D.

They reclined in their seats for another nap before an announcement over the loudspeaker woke them up. With about an hour left of the flight, they were able to freshen up a bit with warm, moist towels and they opted for coffee to drink.

"What's the plan once we get through Customs and out of the airport?" Della asked as she freshened up her lipstick looking into her compact mirror.

"First, we're checking into our hotel. Marie and her parents will meet us later at the hotel. From that point on, we'll do whatever we want," Perry replied.

Della sighed. "I think I could really use a nap. I just know I'll be jet-lagged."

"Do you think you'll make it through the meeting with Marie's parents? I was hoping you'd be there with me."

"Of course I'll be there with you. Maybe I'll catch a second wind after that and we'll have time to enjoy the April weather at an outdoor bistro." Della found Perry's hand for a gentle squeeze.

"That's my girl!" Perry smiled knowing that he could count on her.

The aircraft had a very smooth landing and they had no problems clearing Customs. After a quick taxi ride to the Hotel de Crillon, they checked in and were escorted by a bellhop to their large two-bedroom suite.

While Perry tipped the bellhop for helping with their bags, Della made her way over to the large balcony door to check out their view of Paris. "Oh my gosh, Perry! Look at this view!"

Perry closed the door behind the bellhop and joined Della by the balcony. He walked up behind her and pulled her into an embrace while resting his cheek next to her right ear. "Now that's a nice view – the Eiffel Tower and my beautiful girl looking out over the City of Love. And tonight we'll be looking out over the City of Lights!" He gently kissed her cheek while they continued to admire the view.

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Before meeting with Marie and her parents, Della opted for a quick, refreshing shower and changed her clothes. Perry waited to hear the water running in the shower before he got on the telephone to make a local call.

"Bonjour? Puis-je parler a _Vincent Simone_ s'il vous plait?" Perry was calling his friend Vincent at Vincent's cooking school.

After a minute, Vincent was on the line. "Allo? Ici Vincent."

Perry carried the whole phone with its long cord over towards the balcony door to take in the view and stay out of earshot from Della in the bathroom. "Bonjour Vincent! Ceci est Perry. Comment est votre anglais? Mon francais est faible."

Vincent was excited to hear from Perry. "Ah, Perry my friend! Your French is good, but of course I will speak English for you! I'm so glad that you made it to Paris! Excellent! When will you be ready for your cooking lessons? I've been looking forward to this since you called last week!" Vincent's French accent was very pronounced.

"That's why I'm calling. Will you have time for a quick meeting today in a couple of hours? I have a meeting with a client at my hotel for a while and then I'll be free. I want to get started as soon as possible – but I have to keep my cooking lessons a secret from Della while I'm here."

"That is no problem, Monsieur Mason! Do you have the directions to my building?"

"Oui Monsieur! You can expect a visit from me in two hours!" After a little more back and forth conversation with Vincent, Perry hung up the phone and went into the bedroom to begin unpacking his luggage.

Della came out of the steamy bathroom in a robe moments later and was fluffing her hair with a bath towel. "Are you going to shower or just change clothes? I really needed that quick shower!"

"I think I'll just wash up a bit and shave before I change clothes. We only have twenty minutes before we should be downstairs to meet Marie." Perry took out his shaving kit and walked around Della to wash up in the bathroom.

Within fifteen minutes they were both fixed up and walking to the elevator to meet Marie and her parents downstairs in the hotel lobby. Della's hand was tucked into Perry's elbow as they got on the elevator. As they exited the elevator on the ground floor, she took her hand away.

"I suppose I shouldn't be clinging to you like that. It doesn't look very professional for a secretary to be latched onto her boss like that!"

Perry scanned the lobby looking for Marie while he tucked Della's hand back onto his arm as they walked towards the lobby. "Relax, Della. We're in Paris! Nobody will think anything unusual of a gentleman escorting a lady while walking – whether they are secretary, or boss, or whatever." He spotted Marie and her parents in a sitting area across the lobby. "There they are. Let's get this over with so we can find that bistro you've been looking forward to."

Marie waved to Perry and Della when she saw them approaching. "Bonjour Monsieur Mason! I'm so glad you could come to Paris! Merci beaucoup!" Marie gave Perry and Della hugs.

Marie's parents stood up while Marie introduced them to Perry and Della. "Papa? Maman? Je vous presente Monsieur Mason et Miss Street?"

Perry shook Mr. Claudet's hand. "Enchante!"

Della and Mrs. Claudet smiled and nodded to each other. "Enchante!"

Mr. Claudet directed the group to be seated. "Please. Let's be comfortable. Perhaps it is better to speak English and hope we all understand each other, Oui?" He had a heavy French accent of course. Perry and Mr. Claudet sat next to each other in easy chairs and the ladies were seated on a couch.

Perry nodded in agreement. "My French is not as good as it should be." He chuckled. "Especially if I need to explain the legal procedure that Marie was involved with in Los Angeles..."

Marie was on the edge of her seat. "I was very scared to be in a jail. But Mr. Mason was very understanding. Oh Papa! He is so smart! And Miss Street was so kind and helpful..."

Mr. Claudet raised his hand to politely cut her off. "Oui, Marie. You told us already of their kindness." He turned towards Perry. "Now I need to know what happened and if there are more legal – uh – how do you say - _consequences_ for Marie's future?"

Perry was reassuring right away. "Let me start by saying this: Marie was charged with a very serious crime in Los Angeles. But when the truth came out in our court procedure, she was completely exonerated."

Mr. Claudet looked confused. "Wait, si'l vous plait. What is this ' _exonerated'_?"

Perry paused for a moment thinking of a French translation. "Disculpe'? Or in another English word – absolved?"

"Ohh! Oui! Now I see." Mr. Claudet smiled and nodded. He reached for his wife's hand. "We have less to worry over now." He turned back to Perry. "But maybe we should hear the story from the beginning."

Perry leaned forward in his chair and clasped his hands together in front of his lap. "Like any justice system, when the police are called to a suspicious death scene, they speak with witnesses, gather evidence, and write a very detailed report. In addition to the police, a coroner will check the deceased to try and determine a manner of death. If it's determined that the death was a homicide, the police will continue the investigation and ascertain who might be responsible for the murder. In this case, the police came across evidence that Marie was the one responsible for the death of Pierre Dubois. She was then charged with his murder."

Mr. Claudet interrupted. "But Monsieur Mason, if Marie told the authorities that she did not do this... uh... this _murder_ , why do they not believe her and look for the evidence to support her sworn statement?"

"That's a good question, but in this case, the evidence that Marie might have been involved was overwhelming against her story. In addition, she had motive and opportunity."

Mr. Claudet looked at Marie. "I just knew that your friendship to that devious man was no good. And then you ran off and married him without my permission!"

Marie looked down at her hands on her lap. "Oh Papa! You know I'm sorry. And I've learned a lesson the hard way." She turned to Perry. "Monsieur Mason, you were able to contact a lawyer here in Paris to be sure that my marriage to Pierre was not official, Oui?"

Perry nodded. "Yes, Marie. The marriage was annulled, and from the start it was never documented legally, so it's almost like it never happened."

"And she will stay unmarried until I find a good man for her!" Mr. Claudet was very stern. He turned back to Perry. "So now in America, Marie was in jail for a crime she did not commit. Can she return to America and not always be, uh, how do you say _scrutinized_ by the authorities? Is she safe to travel in America and not have to return to court?"

"Well in this case, it was determined that another woman Pierre also married illegally killed Pierre Dubois. Marie will not face any further scrutiny from the authorities in that case. But if she ever finds herself in a similar situation involving the recovery of stolen jewelry and other suspicious circumstances, she should see an attorney or go to the police right away."

The conversation continued for another hour and as it was ending, Della asked about finding a nice outdoor bistro within walking distance of the hotel.

Marie was quick to answer. "Oui, Della! I know of an excellent sidewalk bistro nearby! And I know of a good garçon there. They will take good care of us so let's go! Au revoir Papa et Maman!" She grabbed Della by the hand and quickly started to walk through the lobby area.

When it was clear that the Claudet's would not be following along with Marie, Della and Perry, the Claudet's said their goodbyes. "Merci Monsieur Mason! I hope we see you again soon for a nice dinner while you visit. You are truly a friend to this family!"

Outside of the hotel, Della got Marie to slow down so Perry could catch up to them. But Marie was impatient. "Vite Della! Sans tarder!"

Della finally got Marie to stop. "We don't need to go so quickly, Marie. Wait for Perry."

"You don't understand, Della. We need to be quick so we can get a good table. This bistro is popular."

Perry caught up to them and they began the two block walk to the bistro. On the sidewalk near the bistro Della paused by an artist who was displaying his work on the curb.

"Oh! There's some lovely artwork on display here. May I stop for just a moment?"

"Della, in Paris you will see that there are so many artists. But look here if you want. I will go and find a good table for us." Marie walked ahead.

Perry stayed with Della as she admired the watercolor paintings on display. "Perry, if you want to go ahead with Marie, I'll just be a minute here and join you shortly."

Perry looked to see where Marie was and decided to follow Marie. "Don't buy anything yet, Della. Just look. We'll have time to look at more artwork for the next three weeks." He caught up to Marie who was stopped and speaking to a man at a table in the bistro.

He chuckled when he saw who she was speaking with. "Bonjour, Jimmy!"

It was Paul Drake's friend Jimmy Meacham at the table speaking with Marie about the details of her court hearing. "Mr. Mason! I had no idea that you were in Paris!"

Perry began explaining his presence and watched as Della was walking towards them. "Marie needed help explaining things to her family."

Della looked at Jimmy as she joined the group. "And I think Perry accomplished that very nicely. Now everyone's happy."

Jimmy nodded to Della, looked around, and then turned back to Perry. "Uh, yeah. Where's Paul Drake?"

"Back in the smog and away from temptation – we hope. He was leaving for Mexico the other day. Why are you so interested?"

Jimmy was just a little nervous and was glad that he did not have to compete with Paul for Marie's attention. "Oh, uh, well, uh... I came here uh, because uh, Marie hasn't even seen Disneyland in America yet! I should be the one to show her around if I can convince her to return."

Della took the hint that Jimmy wanted to see Marie exclusively so she took Perry's arm. "Perry, why don't we leave these two alone? There's a table over there for us..."

Perry just grinned and began walking away with Della. "Au revoir, you two! And Marie, if you need anything else, just call us. A bientôt!"

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After a bite to eat and two glasses of wine at the bistro, Perry and Della returned to their hotel suite.

Della was exhausted. "If you don't mind, I think I'll take a nap."

"That's a good idea. Go ahead and nap for a while. I've got an errand to take care of and I'll wake you when I return."

"What errand? Can I trust you to stay out of trouble without me along?"

"Of course you can. I'm going to speak with the concierge downstairs and figure out how I can look up an old friend. And when I finish that, I'll catch up on some reading." Perry kissed Della on her forehead. "Sleep well. I'll put the do-not-disturb sign on the door when I leave."

So that he'd be honest with Della about his errand, Perry stopped by the hotel concierge desk and confirmed directions to ' _La Cuisine Paris'_ , his friend's famous cooking school. After a five-minute taxi ride, Perry arrived at the school and went inside to find Vincent Simone.

Vincent was seated at a desk in an office area adjacent to a large kitchen classroom. He quickly stood up when he saw Perry at the door.

"Monsieur Mason! Bonjour!" He shook Perry's hand and looked him up and down. "You look good, my friend! But you should learn better cooking so you're not so thin anymore!"

Perry patted his belly and laughed. "My belly is getting bigger every day since you cooked for me many years ago in Dijon. It was nice to have a friend who was a cooking school student back then. How's the cooking school business? You've done very well. Your school is now famous internationally."

Vincent chose his words carefully in English. "The school is good! We have many students enrolled from the United States. They learn to cook here and then return to Los Angeles and New York, open fancy French restaurants and charge outrageous prices for their food!" He gestured for a chair at his desk. "Please, sit down and tell me what you need to study."

Perry outlined his agenda. He reiterated to Vincent that he would need to be flexible and secretive about his cooking classes so that he could surprise Della. It was part of his big plans in Paris.

Vincent listened closely and then slapped his hand down on the desk. "You have good intentions, Perry!" He stood up and gestured for Perry to start walking to the kitchen classroom. "Let's begin! For today, we will cover several simple things. Just remember this word: _roux._ From there you will learn _veloute_ ', _bechamel,_ and _espagnole_!"

Perry tried repeating Vincent's words but showed confusion.

Vincent led him to the kitchen classroom. "I'll make it simple for you, my friend. Sauces! Today we learn to make the perfect sauces!"

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When Perry returned to the hotel suite, Della was still napping in the bedroom. He kicked off his shoes, loosened his tie, and took off his suit coat to crawl onto the bed beside her.

Della stirred, blinking her eyes open and reached her hands out to his face. "Umm. Bonjour, handsome man." She rolled over towards him and kissed his cheek.

Perry nuzzled his cheek into her soft curly hair and held her tight. He was a little tired himself from his two-hour cooking class. "Did you sleep well, Mademoiselle? I hope you rested enough because I made reservations for a nice, cozy dinner tonight."

Della stretched a little then snuggled in closer to him with her eyes closed again. "Umm. Can't we just skip dinner and stay here like this all night?"

He leaned away from her and tickled her side. "Wake up sleepy head! We didn't come all the way to Paris to lay in bed... We can do that at home."

Della playfully fought off his tickling and giggled. "Now stop that... I'll get up. What time is it?"

Perry stopped tickling her and looked at his watch. "It's after three o'clock Paris time. Our dinner reservations are for eight o'clock sharp. And I hope you're hungry... But right now we need to visit your art school and check on your class schedule."

When they arrived at the _Académie_ _des Beaux-Arts,_ Della and Perry were ushered into an admissions office. The English-speaking staff enthusiastically welcomed Della and provided her with an overview of her art class. She was overwhelmed by the size of the school, but they assured her that her classes would be uncomplicated and fun.

As they left the school and waited for a taxi, Della needed reassurance about attending such a prestigious art institution. "What if I flunk? What if my abilities are too inferior and I'm their worst student?"

Perry put a hand on her shoulder and pulled her in close to him. "Della, it's a _school_. You're a _student_. They'll evaluate your potential and adjust their teaching style to _your_ abilities." The taxi pulled up to them and Perry assisted her inside. "I just hope that they don't teach you too well – I don't want you to become too famous so that you'll have to stay here in Paris with all of the other famous artists!"

Della smiled back at him. "Fat chance for that, Counselor! You're stuck with me as your secretary for a long time!"

Perry just grinned. "That's my girl!"

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Maxim's was a picturesque restaurant famous not only for its menu and food, but for its Art Nouveau décor throughout. Della was mesmerized by its beauty and for the moment, her appetite for dinner was secondary to her desire for a good education in the arts.

Perry had to get her attention back to the vast menu so the waiter could take their dinner order. "Della, would like me to order for us?"

Della snapped out of her reverie and glanced at the menu as the waiter stood nearby. "I'm sorry. Go ahead and order. I have a feeling that you'll have your usual..."

Speaking the best French that he could, Perry ordered his usual, "Carre d'agneau, sauce a la menthe, pommes lyonnaise, et un Rouge Bordeaux."

The garçon nodded. "Tres bien Monsieur!"

After the waiter left, Della leaned in towards Perry. "Don't tell me... Rack of lamb, mint sauce, lyonnaise potatoes and a Red Bordeaux..."

Perry just grinned. "I left off the buttered carrots and watercress salad tonight..."

After a filling dinner, the waiter cleared the plates and offered dessert. Della was tempted, but decided that since it was only her first dinner in Paris, she would pass. After Perry paid their tab they walked out into the chilly April night air to find a taxi back to the hotel. There were no taxis nearby so Perry suggested they walk for a bit.

"Let's not walk too far, Perry. My heels aren't exactly comfortable on this uneven pavement."

Perry pointed to a bridge over the River Seine not far from the restaurant. "We'll walk slow. Let's stroll that way and look at the City of Lights. Our hotel is the other way, but let's walk off that nice dinner."

Della read the sign for the bridge. "Pont de la Concorde... I'll have to look that up in my tour book and see if it's famous for something. I want to walk on the oldest bridge over the river while we're here. It's one of the bridges near here I think." She stopped speaking right away when she caught a view of the Eiffel Tower off in the distance. "Perry – look! The Eiffel Tower all lit up!"

They continued walking towards the middle of the bridge and stopped to lean on the railing so they could take in the views.

Della slowly looked around at the lights of the city trying to identify other landmarks. Perry just watched her and put an arm around her to bring her closer to him.

"Look over there, Perry." She pointed off to their right. "That must be the Grand Palais. It's impressive-looking at night!"

Perry just continued watching her, enthralled not only by her beauty, but also by her excitement of taking in the view of the city lights and activity on the river.

Della stopped looking around and glanced up at Perry. "The views from here are magnificent. We should walk around more at night. And maybe take a dinner cruise on one of those boats." She turned to watch as a boat passed by beneath the bridge.

Perry turned Della back towards him and wrapped his arms around her. He kissed her forehead. " _You_ , Della, are magnificent. And my being here in Paris with a woman as beautiful as you makes this city special to me. I want it to be special for _us_."

Della studied his face and smiled. "You're making me blush Monsieur Mason..." She tilted her head to the side. "Are you trying to make this a night of romance in this _special city_? If you are, I think it's working. This is a marvelous night."

"I hope my efforts are working." Still locked in an embrace with her, Perry quickly looked up and around – his big blue eyes looking up to the night sky searching for more of the right words to say. Then he brought his attention back down to her resting his forehead on hers. "I love you Della. I think you know that. So while we're here visiting this city of love and romance..." He paused momentarily and took a deep breath. "Will you marry me, Della? Here in Paris?"

 **TBC**

Thank you for reading. I appreciate and welcome all comments.


	3. Chapter 3

**Chapter Three**

Many years ago, when Perry and Della first came face to face with one another, little did they know then that someday their life would be filled with several _special_ places that they would fondly look back on. Most of these places from years ago now have significant meanings in their lives. During World War II there was a USO Canteen near Long Beach where they first laid eyes on each other and shared their first dance. After the War there was a train station platform in Chicago where they reunited after losing touch with each other during the War years. There were walks along beaches at sunset and hikes in the mountains under bright blue skies. They had stared out at a moonlit ocean sailing back to Los Angeles from Vancouver after one special work trip. The list goes on and on with numerous restaurants and theaters where they shared special occasions. Of course there was also their vacation home in Carmel and other hideaways in cozy cabins on good fishing lakes, too. They enjoyed them all. And now a bridge over the Seine River in Paris France became another such place when Della told Perry that she would marry him.

Over the years, Perry had proposed marriage to her several times before. Sometimes they kidded around about getting married, but he truly meant each and every proposal. Her replies always varied. There was "Someday Perry..."; "Maybe Perry..."; "Good successful attorneys don't marry their secretary, Perry..."; "We're fine just they way we are Perry...". But that special night on that bridge in Paris was different. She answered him with a very heartfelt kiss that in Perry's mind lasted for hours. There were many kisses after that moment, and in between those kisses the words, "Yes I'll marry you Perry" were repeated over and over.

Neither of them would recall exactly how they got back to their hotel suite that wonderful night, but they wouldn't forget making love until well after midnight. The only reminder of their celebration toast was an empty champagne bottle in a bucket of melting ice next to the bed. As daylight began sneaking through the window blinds into their Paris love nest, they both began to stir. They were cuddled together, two peas in a pod, legs and arms entwined in bed covers, pillows, and each other.

Perry was the first to open his eyes and made the first move to stretch his large frame while he adjusted the blankets over her. "I think it's time to get up sleeping beauty."

Della shifted slightly in the bed and snuggled in closer to him. "Umm. It can't be morning already. I feel like I just got to sleep."

"It's after seven o'clock. I thought I heard bells ringing earlier... Almost sounded like wedding bells..." Perry kissed Della on her cheek and rested his cheek next to her ear. "I don't think I _dreamed_ about hearing them."

Della chuckled. "They might have been the bells of Notre Dame. My tour guide book says that they ring them every day."

"Hmm. I like to think they were wedding bells. And was it your tour book that gave you the idea for some of those kisses last night?"

"You mean a kiss like this?" Della cupped his face in her hands, brought her lips to his, and gently parted his lips with her tongue.

Perry sighed, enjoying the kiss, but then tilted his head back away from her. "You better stop that or we may never get out of bed today... Where did you say you heard about that?"

Della giggled. "A magazine. I saw an article in Vogue with a French title ' _Un Baiser Amoureux_ ' and looked up the words in my French dictionary. It literally translated to 'A Lover's Kiss'... I suppose it's the way they like to kiss in France. A French kiss..."

"You read the strangest things sometimes..." Perry gave her a soft kiss on the lips, rolled away from her and lifted the bed sheets off of them. "We need to get out of bed. We have a full day ahead of us."

Della pouted as she pulled a blanket back over them, adjusted a pillow and snuggled into him again. "No... Not yet. At least tell me what the plan is before we get out of bed. It's a little chilly in here."

"All right. First we'll shower and get dressed. Then we can decide on whether we'll have room service breakfast, or go downstairs to the cafe near the lobby. After that we should find City Hall so we can get our marriage license application started." He kissed her again. "The sooner the better with our marriage license. I don't want you to change your mind about marrying me."

" _That_ won't happen, Counselor. I thought last night's marriage proposal was one of your best ideas ever... Of all of your marriage proposals over the years, for some reason that one just really hit me in the heart. How could I resist saying 'Yes'?"

"I'm glad that I finally wore you down," Perry spoke softly while he nibbled on her ear.

"Hey now..." Della moaned as Perry kissed his way down her neck. "I thought we were getting out of bed..."

Perry sighed and propped himself up on one elbow. "You're right. We need to get going."

Della moved Perry onto his back and got one more quick kiss in before resting her head on his chest. "So, what will we do after City Hall?"

"After we have the proper paperwork for getting married, we can find a bite to eat for lunch before _you_ go to your art class..."

"And what will you be doing while I'm in class?"

Perry paused for a moment. "I suppose that I'll just take care of Mr. Arnault's legal matter – if I can find that attorney's office."

"Work, work, work, Monsieur Mason. I thought that maybe you'd walk around and enjoy more of this beautiful city..."

Perry rolled her off of his chest onto her back and leaned over her to return her French-style kiss. "I'll only enjoy walking around this beautiful city with my beautiful girl. Now let's get moving... We have a marriage license application to fill out!"

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In a taxi on the way over to City Hall, Perry explained the process for getting married in France. "We have all of the documentation we need right here in my briefcase." He patted the outside of his leather portfolio. "There are just a few hoops to jump through. According to their law, we need to have a civil ceremony in the City Hall before we can have a church ceremony. There's also a residency requirement."

Della was confused. "Marrying you twice sounds marvelous. But a residency requirement? Do we plan to live here?"

Perry cleared up her confusion right away. "We don't have to relocate here permanently, but we have to establish residency in a way. I've managed to get a waiver for part of that requirement. You'll remember that I lived in Dijon for almost six months when I worked for my first law firm. Even though it was so long ago, it still meets a residency requirement for me. And another waiver I've been able to get, if _you_ are here for at least twenty days, we'll be legal to wed."

"Sounds complicated."

Perry just smiled. "It is, in a way. There are other rules to this process and I've managed to get a few other requirements waived. But I've got it all figured out. I'm a brilliant attorney, remember?"

Della leaned into him. "Yes, you are! I trust you completely."

The taxi stopped in front of a monumental building. The taxi driver turned back to Perry. "L 'hotel de ville, Monsieur. Dix Francs s'il vous plait."

Perry paid the taxi driver and followed Della out of the taxi. He took her arm and they walked towards an entrance to the magnificent building.

Della was puzzled. "Did the taxi driver call this 'Hotel de ville'? In my guide book, city hall is 'Mairie'."

Perry continued walking into the building with her. "Hotel de ville is what city hall is called in Paris. Now we need to find the Marriage Bureau in this place."

There was a large building directory board on a wall and they walked over to it. Perry looked up and down in the 'M' section and didn't find it. "Hmm. I know we have the right building..."

Della stood behind him for a few moments and chuckled at his confusion. She then told him where they needed to go. "Room 400, Perry."

"Huh? How do you know that? Where do you see that?"

She pointed out the room number in the 'B' section. " _Bureau des Mariages_ , Monsieur Mason. When in doubt, just ask your secretary."

Perry shook his head and grinned. "Oh c'mon Miss know-it-all efficient secretary..." He took her arm and they walked to the elevators.

The English-speaking clerk at the service counter in the Marriage Bureau was very friendly and helpful. Perry and Della presented their passports, medical certificates from their doctors in Los Angeles, birth certificates and other documents as required. The clerk assisted them in filling out the application which required some language translation.

While the clerk left the counter to make photostat copies of their documents and the completed application, Della playfully poked Perry in his ribs with her finger. "You're really sneaky! I'm not going to ask how you dug up all of my vital statistics and got a certified copy of my medical record without my knowledge or consent."

Perry grinned at her. "Oh, but you _did_ consent... If you'll look closely on a medical record release form in _your_ filing cabinet, you'll see _your_ signature. I just might have slipped that form in when I had you signing some other papers in the office a couple of weeks ago."

Della raised an eyebrow. "You're a real stinker. But I forgive you now that I know why you had to trick me into signing something."

The clerk returned to the counter with their paperwork. In return they received information pamphlets written in French and English so they would understand their next step. Before they left the Marriage Bureau an hour later, Perry tucked away a certificate in his briefcase that showed they were legal to marry nearly three weeks away on the 28th of April. There were only a few other requirements they had to meet between that day and the 28th.

Walking out of City Hall to the taxi stand, Della paused. "I don't know if it's just nerves or something else, Perry, but I'm feeling a little jittery."

"Three espressos with your breakfast probably made you jittery. Coffee here is pretty strong – something like Paul makes to start his day. I hope you're not nervous about marrying me."

Della shrugged it off. "Of course not." She latched on to his arm with both hands and continued walking to the taxi stand. "Maybe I'm still jet-lagged. Or nervous about art class."

Perry patted her hands on his arm and reassured her. "You'll be just fine in art class. And now the best is yet to come. Most of the legal mumbo-jumbo is out of the way so we can relax – and enjoy our visit to Paris."

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After a light lunch at a sidewalk cafe, Perry left Della at her art school. She was scheduled for a class until three o'clock. Perry agreed to meet her back at the school at that time. He caught a taxi to Vincent's cooking school to continue his cooking lessons.

Perry once again located Vincent in his office near the kitchen classroom. There were several students in the kitchen and Perry inhaled the aroma of beef, garlic and onions. Vincent ushered him in to his office right away.

"Bonjour, Perry! I hope you have not already forgotten your lesson from yesterday!"

"Non, Vincent! Je ne vais pas oublier les _sauces_!" Perry closed the door behind them to drown out the sounds of the cooking class. He wanted to share the good news with Vincent right away. "My plan worked, Vincent! Della will marry me here in Paris! I hope you will come to the wedding!"

Vincent reached out to shake Perry's hand. "Congratulations, my friend! Tell me, Perry. Is Della still as beautiful as she was when we met in New York City – was it three years ago?"

"It _was_ three years ago! Your friend opened his new French restaurant in Manhattan and you invited us to the big occasion..." Perry opened his wallet and removed a photo of Della. "Here is a newer photo of Della." He handed the photo across the desk to Vincent.

"Wow, Perry! Magnifique! You are a lucky man."

"Don't I know it!" Perry tucked the photo back into his wallet.

"The meal you will learn to cook for her birthday will be superb! And perhaps you will make her a nice meal on your honeymoon?"

Perry patted him on the back. "One surprise at a time, Vincent. The big surprise will be for her birthday. I've rented a Châteaux with a modernized kitchen in Bordeaux for her birthday. I'm still working on finding a place for our honeymoon – now that I know she'll marry me!"

He sat down at his desk. "I can undoubtedly help you with that, too, my friend. In my network of friends, we can arrange for something that suits you."

"I'll be very grateful. But first, I need to perfect my cooking skills..."

"Oui, my friend! So today we can learn about soup. But first, I have a gift for you..." He reached under his desk and brought out a wide flat box and handed it across the desk to Perry.

Perry looked baffled. "What is this?"

"Open it, my friend!"

Perry opened the box and brought out a white cotton double-breasted chef's jacket. Perry laughed and brought the jacket up against his chest to size it up. "Merci, mon ami!"

Vincent stood up and started to help Perry take his suit coat off so he could put the chef's jacket on. "Now today, you will look like a chef and leave no soup stains on your suit coat. And look – it was made especially for you!"

Perry looked at the front of the jacket and found his name and the school's name embroidered on the front. "This looks so official! I better work hard so I'll look like a real French chef!"

Vincent was proud of presenting the gift. "Now where shall we start? Tourin or French onion soup? We'll save bisque for last!"

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The taxi carrying Perry back to Della's art school was caught up in afternoon traffic and combined with a late start leaving the cooking school, Perry was twenty minutes late meeting Della. He found her waiting on a bench outside of the school. He instructed the driver to wait while he waved Della over to the taxi. She waved back and hurried over to the cab.

"What a day I've had Perry!" Della was smiling. "I _love_ this school!" She gave him a quick kiss on the cheek before they got into the taxi.

Della continued when they got settled in the back seat. "Not only will I learn advanced sketching and other drawing techniques, but I'm getting quite an education on artwork and French artists! Thank you for such a wonderful birthday gift!"

Perry had already given the driver the address of their next stop. He put his arm around Della and kissed her cheek. "I'm glad that you like the school. And you thought that you weren't good enough for such a prestigious art institution! But that's my girl – already top in the class!"

"Oh stop it!" Della blushed. "I'm nowhere near the top of the class – even though I'm the only student most of the time... So what's next, Monsieur Mason? Did you take care of Mr. Arnault's estate tax situation?"

Perry adjusted his briefcase on the seat. "Not yet. We're going to meet an attorney about that right now – if you don't mind." He was hoping that she wouldn't be asking what he'd been doing while she was in class.

"I don't mind at all." Della's mind was only on her art class. "I actually feel energized after my class. I'm not jittery anymore and I'm not even hungry. But I could use a nice glass of wine when we're finished meeting with the attorney."

Perry hugged her again. "Then we'll do just that! When we finish with Mr. Arnault's affairs, we'll find a nice quiet sidewalk cafe and you can tell me all about your art school!"

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Marc Gilles was a highly respected estate tax attorney who was recommended to Perry by an old law school friend from Los Angeles. He had phoned Gilles for an appointment during a break in his cooking class. Even on short notice, Gilles was more than happy to meet with Perry about Mr. Arnault's legal matter.

Upon their arrival at Gilles' office, Perry gave Della the choice of sitting in on the meeting or waiting in the outer office. She opted for going into the meeting with him in case he wanted her assistance.

After the introductions in French were out of the way, they all sat down and Gilles made them feel at ease speaking to them in English.

"I studied tax laws in America for a year in Washington DC at your Internal Revenue Service. Here in Paris I help Americans with their tax situations. Your law school friend was a client of mine so I'm glad that he asked you to see me. He says that if I ever need a criminal defense attorney in America, you will be the man to call!"

Perry chuckled. "I hope that you'll never need me for a criminal case! But if you ever come to America for a vacation, I can show you some excellent fishing spots!"

"Aha! But before fishing, maybe you can give me a tour of Hollywood so I can meet some movie stars. I watched many movies when I lived in America. Tell me, do you know Brigitte Bardot?"

Perry looked to Della then shook his head. "I'm afraid I do _not_ know her, Monsieur Gilles. But if you come to Los Angeles and she is there, we can probably arrange for you to meet her."

"Oooh, Monsieur Mason! I would like that very much. It's very peculiar that if I want to meet a beautiful French movie star, I will need to travel to Hollywood because it seems that they rarely return to their home country once they get to Hollywood. But enough of my fantasies now – we need to take care of your client's estate tax problem. Let me start by seeing the power-of-attorney document."

It took well over an hour, but they finished the paperwork necessary to settle Mr. Arnault's situation with his late father's estate. Mr. Gilles gave them all of the documents and instructions for completing the legal settlement.

"At the American Embassy here in Paris, you will find an office of your Internal Revenue Service. With this paperwork, you will complete the process there." Gilles gave Perry his business card in case he needed any further assistance.

Perry was very grateful for all of his help. "Merci, Monsieur Gilles. How can I pay you for your services? I can pay you now if you prefer." He started to take out his checkbook.

Gilles waved him off. "No need to pay now, Monsieur Mason. If you tell me how to contact you in Los Angeles, I will send you my bill."

Perry handed him his business card. "Very well, Monsieur Gilles. When you come to Los Angeles, please call on me. Perhaps we can arrange for you to visit one of our many movie studios so you can meet pretty actresses other than Brigitte Bardot!"

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After leaving Gilles' office, Della spied a small cafe nearby. "What are we planning for dinner? Maybe we can stop here and have a glass of wine and ask our garçon where he can recommend a nice quiet place for dinner later."

Perry thought it over. "I could really use a nice glass of wine right now, too. Perhaps the garçon will know of a place near our hotel so we can drop off all of this paperwork before dinner. We can visit the Embassy tomorrow because I'm certain it's after business hours now." He patted his leather briefcase. "The sooner we take care of business with all of the stuff in here, the better."

They walked across the street where they saw several small shops and cafés to look in to. Della stopped suddenly outside of 'La Cave a Vin'. "Wait. Listen, Perry. I hear accordion music." They paused to listen to the song. "It's 'La Vie en Rose' playing! This might be a nice place."

"Well let's find out." Perry ushered Della towards the entrance.

When offered a choice for outdoor or indoor seating by the maitre'd, Perry looked up to the sky. "It looks like it might rain. Let's go inside so we can hear the music better."

They got a small table for two, but Perry pulled an extra chair up to their table to place his briefcase on. He didn't want to leave it on the floor, and the table was too small to place it on top.

The garçon took their order for glasses of red wine and he offered an assortment of cheese and a baguette to go along with the wine. It was not even close to dinner time so Della nodded to him enthusiastically.

Their wine arrived and Perry proposed a toast. "To my beautiful girl – an aspiring French artist."

Della smiled and raised an eyebrow at him, but tipped her wine glass with his. "Cheers!"

Between sips of wine, and bites of cheese and bread, Della described her day. "We started out with an overview of the classes they'll offer. After that I learned a little bit of art history in France. At first it was overwhelming, but my instructor explained that it was a good place to start. After the first hour, we took a short break before another instructor came into the room and gave me my very own sketch pad."

Perry smiled and politely listened, enthralled with seeing her enthusiasm and happiness for the school. "I'm assuming that you have your very own locker or storage area to keep your art materials. Will we be shopping for _art_ supplies? I know how you love shopping for _office_ supplies..."

Della reached across the table and patted Perry's hand that he was resting on the table. "Don't worry about that! They're supplying _everything_ for me! I've already completed my first sketch! My model was a bowl of fruit on a table! Oh, Perry... This is a wonderful birthday gift!" She leaned across the table and kissed him.

"I'm glad you're enjoying it. Maybe some day you'll have your own art gallery..." Perry grinned.

"Ha! I'd need to study art here for ten years before I could even know my way around in an art gallery..." Della tried to change the subject. "And what were you up to while I was in art class?"

Perry had to think of something quickly to divert her attention from his cooking activities. "I picked up a newspaper and thought about sitting in a park to enjoy the weather, but..." He paused as the accordion player finished a song so he could stall further while they clapped for the performance. When the applause died down, Perry found the opportunity to change the subject by pointing to the window. "Look - I think it's raining outside."

They looked out the window across the room and watched as people quickly walked by, covering their heads with umbrellas in the pouring rain. His diversion worked. Della began commenting on the weather.

"I'm glad that I'm wearing a spring trench coat today. I never even thought of bringing along an umbrella..."

"We'll stay out of the rain." Perry sliced more cheese for them and placed it on their empty hors d'oeuvres plate. "The rain comes and goes so quickly. We can sip our wine for a while and figure out where we'll have dinner later. We're in no rush tonight."

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Their waiter at the cafe recommended a small, quiet place nearby for their dinner and by seven o'clock, they were seated and ordering an early light dinner from an ala carte menu. By the time they had finished dinner, the rain had stopped again and the city streets lit up. Perry gathered up the briefcase and they decided to stroll around the area to look at more sights of the city before they would take a taxi back to their hotel. They stopped by a large fountain near a park.

Della looked out over the large round pool of water with the tall sculpture in the middle. "My tour book says that there are probably hundreds of fountains in Paris. As we spend more time walking around, I'll have to remember to bring my book or a map so that I can learn the history or significance of the fountain."

Perry looked around for a landmark or a street sign on a building to figure out exactly where they were. "Until we bring along a map, we should stay off these small side streets and walk along the busier streets. It might be easier to hail a taxi on a main road."

"Are you worried about being lost, Monsieur Mason?"

Perry pulled Della close and kissed her. "As long as you're with me, I'm never lost."

They watched as another couple on the other side of the fountain tossed a coin into the water. The couple then hugged each other and kissed.

Perry commented on all of the coins in the water. "I wonder who cleans out the coins and if a charity profits from all the coins collected?"

That gave Della an idea. She opened her purse to look for any spare change but didn't find any. "Do you have any change? We should toss a coin and make a wish. After all, this is our first fountain..."

Perry put the briefcase down on the sidewalk at his feet and reached into his pants pocket for coins. He came out with several coins of different value and held them in the palm of his hand for Della to see. "Choose a coin."

Della looked them over. "Hmm. I don't remember the exchange rate. What's this coin worth?" She chose a coin with a 2 on it."

Perry examined it. "Two francs. That's reasonable if we're just going to toss it away." He handed it back to Della.

"Make a wish. Tell me when you're ready and I'll toss it towards the fountain sculpture."

Perry just smiled and looked down at her. "Okay. I'm ready. Do you want to know what I'm wishing?"

Della smiled up at him and raised her eyebrow. "I know that look in your eyes! You better keep it to yourself – for now..."

She turned to toss the coin underhand and they watched it bounce off the sculpture and splash into the water. Della was proud of her toss and looked back up to Perry. She reached her arms around his neck and Perry took her in his arms for a passionate kiss. They were still swaying in each others arms sharing a few more kisses when they heard a group of loud revelers walking on the sidewalk towards the fountain.

Perry and Della slowly released their embrace to direct their attention to the pack of young merrymakers nearby. Perry held Della close as he counted at least five young adults in the group - their arms around each other huddling as they made their way towards the fountain. They were singing loudly in French and dancing – their feet stomping in rain puddles and tapping as they moved closer to Perry and Della.

Della turned to watch and smile at them and soon two of them were reaching for her hands for her to join them in their celebration dance. Before Perry could distance himself from them, he also became part of their revelry. Two young men in the group pulled Della their way while one young lady hung on to Perry while she staggered up against him trying to grab onto his arms. Perry managed to hold the woman back when she tried to hug him. They continued cheering and shouting their song for another moment before the group slowly danced away from them along the sidewalk.

Perry scowled at the group as they continued shouting and singing down the street and then pulled Della close to him again. "Are you okay? I thought they were going to grab your purse – or toss you into the fountain."

Della smoothed out her coat and showed Perry that she still had her purse on her arm. "Wow! They sure were celebrating _something_."

Perry turned back to see that they were not going to return. They had made their way around a corner out of sight, but he could still hear them singing. "A bunch of young drunks I think... We should be moving along ourselves. I'm thinking that we can have our own celebration back at the hotel with a nightcap."

"You have the best ideas, Monsieur Mason."

Perry looked around for a taxi. "I don't think we'll find a taxi here, but let's walk back a block. That street had more traffic on it." He looked down to pick up his briefcase. It wasn't where he had placed it so he looked around on the sidewalk.

Della saw the alarm on his face as he frantically looked all around them and she knew right away that something was wrong. "Oh no, Perry! The briefcase!"

Perry quickly checked all of his pockets and discovered that his wallet and checkbook were also missing. Right away he looked back in the direction that the group of revelers had walked. He quickly turned back to Della. "Stay right here!"

He ran off towards the corner where he last saw the group. As he turned the corner, the street was clear and quiet – not even cars were moving on the street. He trotted back to Della right away. "Let's walk back towards the restaurant and call the police!"

 **TBC**

Thank you for reading. I really appreciate your comments and reviews!


	4. Chapter 4

**Chapter Four**

Tourists are always an easy mark for thieves in just about every big city, no matter what country. This was especially true for Perry and Della on a rain-soaked side street in Paris. They quickly walked back to the restaurant where they had dinner - Perry's large strides were hard for Della to keep up with. She didn't complain, though. She knew exactly how important it was for them to recover the stolen briefcase, and of course Perry's wallet and checkbook.

The maitre'd at the restaurant was very consoling and phoned for the Police right away when Perry explained what had happened. "Monsieur, there is always a policeman nearby on this street. He will be here soon to help you."

Perry anxiously watched out the window for the policeman to arrive. It began to rain again. Della stood right by his side with a worried look on her face clinging to his arm.

He noticed how upset Della looked and tried to decrease her anxiety. "We'll get it all back, Della. I have a lot of cash in my pocket with my money clip and more in the hotel safe in our room. The checkbook is just our office account and we can cancel that right away. I only had U.S. currency in the wallet."

Della was still quite agitated. "But what about our passports? And our birth certificates? We can't get out of the country without one or both of them. This is awful! This is all my fault! I shouldn't have talked you into stopping for wine. We should have gone right back to the hotel after we met with Mr. Gilles..."

Perry pulled her close and calmed her down. "It's more my fault than yours. Let's not get carried away blaming ourselves for this theft." He looked back out the window. "I think I see a policeman in a yellow raincoat running this way."

The policeman walked in the door and spoke to the maitre'd as he shook off the rain from his hat and coat. "Qui a besoin de la Police?"

He was directed to Perry right away. "Ce qui s'est passe'?"

Perry asked if he could explain the situation in English. "Parlez-vous anglais?"

The policeman looked back at the maitre'd and rolled his eyes. "Aha! Touriste!" He turned back to Perry as he took off his hat and wiped the rain from his brow. "Oui. I know a little English."

Perry caught the hint of the policeman's annoyance at being called to help a tourist, but began explaining what happened right away. "A group of thieves distracted us with their dancing and singing celebration and made off with my briefcase, wallet, and a checkbook." Perry pointed back out on the street towards the fountain. "It happened a block away near the fountain. They danced away around the corner before we realized that they had taken our belongings."

The policeman's attitude softened. "Okay. I understand. I'm Antonin Beauchamp, Police Nationale. What is your name, Monsieur?"

Perry introduced himself and Della.

Beauchamp nodded back to them. "Come with me, s'il vous plait. I will arrange to have someone write a report for you." The policeman stepped outside the door under the entry awning and blew a whistle. Moments later a police car stopped on the street in front of them and Beauchamp directed them to get in the car. The driver took them to a nearby Police Station where Beauchamp, Perry, and Della ran inside out of the rain.

Perry and Della were ushered to a lobby area to sit down while Beauchamp removed his hat and approached another police officer sitting at a desk. The desk area was up higher off the floor in a secure area surrounded by bullet-proof glass. There was a long railing in front of the desk and Beauchamp ducked under it to stand closer to the officer at the desk. Perry watched and listened as Beauchamp informed the desk officer of their situation speaking in French through an opening in the glass wall.

Sitting on a long wooden bench in the lobby, Perry whispered to Della. "He's arranging for a detective to speak with us. I think he's going to go back on his beat to look for the thieves but he wants to talk to us first."

Beauchamp walked back to Perry and Della and opened a notebook. "S'il vous plait, tell me what you can about this roving group of thieves."

Perry spoke up right away. "There were five of them - three young men and two young women. Two of the men wore dark jackets and plaid red-colored berets." He nodded towards Della. "The two young men took her hands to get her to dance with them. The woman who brushed up against me was wearing dark slacks, a white scarf over her head and a long, light blue coat. It happened so fast, I didn't notice what the others were doing."

Beauchamp wrote down the descriptions of the suspects in his notebook. "Tell me again what they took from you."

"My brown leather portfolio briefcase that was near my feet on the sidewalk and contains very important papers. There was also my wallet and checkbook that was in the inner pocket of my suit coat. The wallet has credit cards and U.S. currency among a few other things."

"I will return to my beat to look for them soon. A detective will come for you soon to take your statement. Please wait here." Beauchamp walked back up to the desk officer and began talking and laughing with him.

The desk officer was betting that Beauchamp and his beat partner, Serge Bautiste, would have the usual suspects in custody by the end of their work shift. Beauchamp was laughing because he said that he would have the thieves arrested within an hour. Beauchamp added in a quiet voice that he and Bautiste wanted their regular dinner break in an hour so the arrest would be made before then. He was just waiting for Bautiste to return to the police station and pick him up.

Della watched and listened. "He doesn't seem to be in any hurry to go out and look for them. Can you hear what they're laughing about?"

Because the officers were speaking in hushed tones, Perry couldn't hear what they were saying. Perry shook his head and told her, "No. I suppose we'll just have to wait for a while."

The desk officer and Beauchamp eventually broke up their conversation when Beauchamp saw Bautiste waiting in their police car outside of the front door. He waved to the desk officer as he walked away to return to his beat. "Il est temps de revenir au ma rue! Au revoir!" He put his police hat back on and nodded to Perry and Della as he left the building.

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Police Inspector Henri LeMaire walked in a side door behind the secure desk area and took off his wet trench coat and black fedora hat. The forty-year-old chief detective was neatly dressed in a dark suit and tie. His dark hair was freshly cut and his pencil-thin mustache neatly trimmed. He looked around the lobby and the desk as he shook the rain from his trench coat. Out of sight from Perry and Della, he walked up behind the desk officer to speak with him. "Je espère que ca se arrête de pleuvoir bientôt!"

"Oui, Inspecteur LeMaire." The desk officer only agreed that he also didn't care for the rainy weather. He personally didn't care too much for the egotistical and unscrupulous detective either, but he didn't say it out loud. And like many of the other officers working that area of Paris, the desk officer was minimally courteous and respectful to him – but only because of LeMaire's rank and his connection to the unethical Prefecture of Police. He also knew that LeMaire had been doing personal errands on duty – which included his new haircut and a shoe shine. Personal errands on duty were strictly forbidden, but apparently that policy did not apply to LeMaire as much as it did to the other officers.

Inspector LeMaire nodded towards Perry and Della then asked who they were.

In a quiet voice the desk officer told Inspector LeMaire that Perry and Della were English-speaking tourists that had been robbed by a group of thieves. He added that they were waiting for him to write a police report of the incident. LeMaire listened to the story while he sized-up Perry but then stared provocatively at Della. When the desk officer finished the story, LeMaire gave the desk man an order in French. He quietly told him that when Beauchamp and Bautiste round up their usual suspects, they should bring them in the back room for the usual interrogation. He added that he would bring Perry and Della back to his office momentarily.

Perry and Della calmly watched the activities in the police station while waiting to speak to someone about their theft. A man delivering a stack of newspapers walked in and spoke to the desk officer in French. He commented on the rain letting up and handed the desk officer the newspapers. Moments later a man and woman walked in and asked the desk officer for directions to a nearby theater. After that couple left, the desk officer had to answer a brief phone call.

After waiting thirty minutes, Perry was getting a little perturbed so he approached the desk officer who appeared to be reading the newspaper. "Excusez-moi, monsieur. Parlez-vous anglais?"

The desk officer put the newspaper down to reply. "Oui, monsieur. I speak some English..."

Perry got right to the point. "I want to be clear about why we are still waiting here. Officer Beauchamp told us that someone would speak to us right away. We've been waiting over thirty minutes now. Did I misunderstand the officer?"

The desk officer was beginning to reply when Inspector LeMaire appeared behind him at the desk and interrupted him. "I will speak with you now, Monsieur." He nodded towards the side of the desk to a wooden gate. "Bring the woman with you and I will meet you over there and bring you to my office."

Della heard the conversation and joined Perry at the gate where LeMaire met them to escort them into the secure area. LeMaire led them down a long hallway past several closed office doors towards the back of the building and into his office.

LeMaire gestured for them to sit down. "Please sit down." He walked around his desk and sat down in his fine leather desk chair. After Perry helped Della get seated and pulled up a chair of his own to sit on, LeMaire lit a cigarette. "Would you like a cigarette, or perhaps some coffee?"

Perry quickly declined the cigarette and looked to Della to see if she wanted coffee. Della nervously declined. Perry told him, "No, thank you."

"I am Chief Inspector Henri LeMaire. It is my understanding that you misplaced some of your belongings tonight."

Perry began to correct him right away. "Our belongings were not _misplaced_ , Inspector LeMaire, they were _stolen_ from us."

"And I said that I am _Chief_ Inspector LeMaire." He exhaled the smoke from his cigarette towards Perry and tapped an ash into an ash tray.

Perry corrected himself. "Our belongings were not misplaced, _Chief_ Inspector LeMaire, they were stolen from us."

LeMaire was pleased that Perry acknowledged his proper title. "You are tourists, Oui?"

Perry nodded. "Uh, yes... Oui. From the United States."

LeMaire slowly leaned forward over the desktop. "I see... Well I happen to know that many Americans come here to visit and when they imbibe too heavily with our good French wine, they tend to forget the whereabouts of their valuables." His voice got louder. "When you American tourists lose your valuables, you always blame the French citizens for your own stupidity by accusing us of theft!" He angrily pounded his fist down when he finished speaking.

Perry just grinned at LeMaire's tirade and shook his head. He didn't like LeMaire's insulting attitude but responded politely. "I'm sorry that you've had bad encounters with other accusatory drunk tourists, but we did not _lose_ our property. It was taken from us by a group of young adults that momentarily distracted us as we stood by a fountain. We're here to ask for your help. We need the property returned."

LeMaire crushed out his cigarette and hesitantly opened a desk drawer. He brought out a theft report form and a pen. "What is your name?" Now he was all businesslike as he began gathering information to write the report.

Ten minutes later, they were nearly finished with the pertinent information. LeMaire had sternly asked Perry for the details of the incident, but properly recorded the details. Before LeMaire could explain to Perry the next step of his investigation, Officer Beauchamp knocked on LeMaire's office door.

"Un moment Inspecteur..." Beauchamp motioned for him to come out of the office.

LeMaire instructed Perry and Della to stay seated and left the room. He and Beauchamp walked down the hallway to their interrogation room where the handcuffed theft suspects were seated under the watchful eye of Officer Bautiste.

The perpetrators saw LeMaire and they all looked down feeling a little uneasy. LeMaire just stared at them and slowly walked around the room, his hands clasped together behind his back. He knew all of them by name.

LeMaire instructed Beauchamp and Bautiste to escort four of the suspects to another room nearby. He wanted to speak to the leader of the group alone.

LeMaire got right in the leader's face. "Zacharie! You will never learn, will you? The last time you were brought in here, we had an agreement! You were to stay out of my arrondissement!"

Zacharie began to explain why he was in LeMaire's neighborhood. "Oui, Inspecteur. But tonight..."

LeMaire cut him off right away. "I don't want to hear any excuses. How many tourists have you robbed tonight?"

"Umm. Just one..." Zacharie nervously looked down again.

"You lie!" Lemaire stood Zacharie up and slapped his face hard. "How many?"

Zacharie tried to shake off the stinging feeling from the slap. "I do not lie. I only took something from one person. But Gaston and the others took many things from other people..."

"But Gaston only does that after you tell him to!" LeMaire paused. "Where are you hiding the loot this time?"

Zacharie was reluctant to say but when LeMaire backhanded him across the face again, he responded. "In Colette's apartment." A spot of blood was now showing on Zacharie's bottom lip.

"Her apartment has many hiding places." LeMaire slugged Zacharie in the gut.

When Zacharie straightened up and stopped coughing from the blow to his gut, his voice strained to reply. "Under the kitchen sink this time."

LeMaire stepped out of the room and spoke with Beauchamp in the hallway. "Colette's apartment this time... Under the kitchen sink. Have Bautiste bring the others back in here and then prepare the lineup room."

Perry and Della silently waited for LeMaire to return to his office. They could hear activity in the hallway but didn't go to the open office door to look.

When LeMaire returned to his office he had a triumphant look on his face. "I believe that I have caught your thieves. I will take you one at a time to see if you can identify them. Monsieur Mason, you will be first. Come with me."

Perry stood up right away and patted Della on her shoulder before he followed LeMaire out of the office. He was brought to a dimly lit viewing room with one-way mirrored glass. At LeMaire's command over an intercom system, Bautiste brought in Zacharie for Perry to look at.

LeMaire looked to Perry. "Monsieur? Is this one of them?"

Perry thought it was an odd way to conduct a police lineup since there was only one suspect to look at. "Yes. He was one of the men that danced with Miss Street. He's wearing the same jacket and beret."

Lemaire went back to the intercom. "Bautiste, bring in the next one."

While Zacharie was being led out of the lineup room, Perry questioned the legality of the show-up. "May I ask why that man was the only one in the room? Why do I need to be behind this one-way mirror to identify the suspect? I could just as easily stand face-to-face with him and tell you that he was in the group..."

LeMaire scowled at Perry. "Monsieur Mason, we have different procedures here in my country. Just let me do my job!"

One at a time, each theft suspect was brought out and Perry identified all of them. When they were finished in the lineup viewing room, Perry was brought to a vacant office. LeMaire explained that he didn't want him to speak to Della or give her any hints about the suspects before she could see them for herself. Perry sat down in a chair in the vacant office leaning forward with his elbows on his knees, his hands clasped together in front of him. He still thought that LeMaire's method of identification was unusual, probably illegal, but he just wanted to get the process over with and hopefully recover their property.

LeMaire spoke to Bautiste in the hallway. "For the next lineup, bring in three of the drunks we have locked up in the drunk tank downstairs. And see if two of the secretaries from the typing pool can stand in for this next lineup."

Bautiste nodded and walked away to do as he was instructed. Right away he knew LeMaire was going to deliberately try to further mess up the identification process. He didn't agree with LeMaire's tactics, but he had no choice if he wanted to continue working with his friend Beauchamp.

Before LeMaire went back to his office to get Della, he went through a side door next to his office where his washroom was located. He quickly washed his face and splashed on some cologne. He looked in the mirror over the sink, adjusted his necktie, and quickly checked his teeth. He popped a breath mint in his mouth and made his way into his office.

"Okay Mademoiselle. We are ready for you..." He reached out for her hand to escort her out of his office.

Della was at first reluctant to hold his hand, but smiled politely and allowed him to lead her out into the hallway. As she got closer to him, she caught a whiff of the strong smell of his cologne. Right away she was uneasy being alone with Lemaire and began to wonder where Perry was.

"Is Mr. Mason finished already? I thought I would see him before I would have to look at..."

LeMaire interrupted her. "Monsieur Mason is finished for now. He's waiting down the hall. I cannot allow you to see him or speak to him before you have your chance to see the suspects. That would not be very fair if he gave you any hints, would it?"

Della smiled nervously as they arrived in the viewing room. "I understand..."

LeMaire brought her over to a chair in the darkened room and got her seated. "We will begin in a moment. When the suspects are brought in, just tell me which ones you have seen before." He walked up to the one-way mirrored glass to look into the vacant lineup room. He walked back to the light switch on the wall and turned down the lights even more. "It is best to have the room darkened on this side – especially so that the suspects cannot see you."

Della held her purse on her lap and sat back in the chair. She tried blinking her eyes to get them to adjust to the darkened room. The lights in the lineup room were not turned on yet so there was no light being reflected into the viewing room. She squirmed a little in her seat but stopped right away when she sensed LeMaire standing right behind her.

"How soon will the suspects be brought into the lineup room?" Della nervously waited for LeMaire to answer her.

LeMaire placed his hands on her shoulders. "It won't be long now." He began gently massaging her shoulders. "You're a little tense, Mademoiselle. Just relax."

Della straightened up and moved away from him. "I'll be more comfortable if I can stand."

LeMaire became a little frustrated at Della's resistance to his subtle advances. "If you wish to stand, you may." He walked over to the intercom box and called for Bautiste. The lights in the lineup room came on and Bautiste marched three older drunk men and two neatly dressed women into the room.

With his arm around her now, LeMaire turned to Della, "Tell me which ones you recognize."

Della stepped away from LeMaire's embrace and moved closer to the one-way mirrored glass. "I don't recognize any of these people. The men are older and dirtier and these women are both wearing dresses. None of them were involved in the incident."

LeMaire went back to the intercom. "Take them away. We're finished here." LeMaire went back to the light switch and turned on the lights in the viewing room. "I'm afraid we have a problem here, Mademoiselle. Let's go back to my office."

Perry and Della were reunited in LeMaire's office a few minutes later when LeMaire rushed them back inside. Della tightly grabbed onto Perry's arm right away. Perry saw the distraught look on her face so he patted her hand on his arm and gave her a reassuring smile.

"Well, Chief Inspector LeMaire? Are they under arrest? Did you recover any of our things?"

"They are _not_ under arrest. They might not be the ones involved at all."

Perry challenged him right away. "But they _are_ involved. I told you that! Every one of them!"

"But the Mademoiselle told me differently," LeMaire replied right away. "I should let them go."

Perry looked at Della who glanced back with a worried look on her face. He looked back to LeMaire. "I want you to detain them. I'll make a citizen's arrest if I need to. You can't just let them go..."

LeMaire began herding them towards the door. "I haven't decided their fate yet. But I am finished with you tonight. When I know something more, I will contact you. Bonsoir. You can find your way out." He pointed towards the front of the police station.

Perry stopped outside of the door. "May I see these suspects for a moment – right now? I just want to ask them a few questions..."

LeMaire became a little more belligerent. "I said we are finished! Now leave the building or I will arrest _you_ for obstruction!"

Perry shook his head and was about to say something else, but Della gripped his arm tighter and pulled him towards her. They walked to the front desk area where Perry asked the desk officer if he could call a taxi for them. The desk officer politely directed them to walk to the left outside of the front door where they would find a taxi stand.

As Officer Beauchamp pulled up to the police station in the police car, he saw Perry and Della getting into a taxi. He watched the taxi drive away as he unloaded a large box from the police car and walked to LeMaire's office. He knocked on the door and LeMaire shouted for him to enter.

Beauchamp was proud of his recovery and began unloading the box. "We have many valuables here Inspector." He placed several passports, wallets, purses, jewelry, and a leather briefcase on top of the desk.

LeMaire started sifting through the pile. He looked up to Beauchamp. "You may go now. I can take this from here. Bautiste will need your help taking care of Zacharie's group now. And this time be sure they understand that I don't want them back in my area anymore!"

"Oui, Inspecteur." Beauchamp left the office.

LeMaire picked up the leather briefcase and opened it up to check out the contents right away. He looked through the file of paperwork for Arnault's estate tax resolution and tossed it aside. The next file folder contained Perry and Della's documents that they presented at the marriage bureau to apply for their marriage certificate. LeMaire found the certificate and looked away after reading it. "Hmm," he thought to himself. "They are here to get married... I will have to find a way to stop that." He put that file aside and came across Perry and Della's passports. He opened Della's passport to find her birthdate and other pertinent information. A devious smile came to his face when he noticed that her birthday was coming up soon.

He put everything back in the briefcase and looked through the rest of the property in the box and on his desk top trying to find Perry's wallet and checkbook. When he found the wallet, he looked inside and noticed the U.S. currency. After counting out three hundred and fifty-eight dollars, he folded up the bills and placed them in his desk drawer. The American Express credit card and other credit cards for American gas stations he left alone. Then he found the photo of Della and pulled it out. After staring at it with a great desire to win her over from Perry, he removed the photo from the wallet and put it in the drawer with the money. When he found Perry's checkbook, he gathered it together with the wallet and briefcase and brought it over to a closet in his office. He opened a safe in the closet and placed all of Perry's property in the safe.

Back at his desk, he sorted through the rest of the stolen property taking the jewelry that looked valuable and putting it in another box in his top desk drawer. After emptying cash and other valuables from the other purses and wallets, he dumped the rest of the stolen property in another larger desk drawer.

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In the taxi ride back to their hotel, Perry was furious that LeMaire would not let him talk to the suspects. He did not want to upset Della any further so he tried to calm down before he asked her about the lineup she viewed. "I identified each and every one of them. I just know that you would have recognized at least two of them... How can that damn _Chief_ Inspector just decide to turn them loose? I don't like this _Chief_ Inspector LeMaire at all!"

Della was dispirited thinking that maybe she had blown the case against the suspects. "Perry, the people I saw were definitely not involved. He showed me three scruffy-looking old men that could barely stand up straight and two women that were wearing very tidy dresses. There's no way I could have said with any certainty that they were the ones involved..."

Perry was still annoyed at LeMaire. "I think LeMaire is playing games with us. We probably didn't get to see the same lineup of people. I don't understand him at all. Huh! _Chief_ Inspector LeMaire! What an arrogant son-of-a-bitch!"

Della let out a heavy sigh. "He makes me very uncomfortable..."

Perry became more concerned. "Did he threaten you? What happened?"

"I think he was trying to come on to me."

Perry pulled Della close. " _That_ won't happen anymore! From now on, any time we have to speak to him, we'll be together. I won't let you out of my sight if we're with him again!"

Della leaned her head on Perry's shoulder. "Let's not do anything foolish. He's unpredictable!"

Perry sighed and changed his demeanor. "We'll be all right, Della." He kissed her forehead. "We've been in some tough situations before and we always manage to work things out."

It was nearly ten-thirty when they got back to their hotel. While Della waited by the elevator, Perry made a quick stop in the hotel bar to buy a bottle of cognac to take up to their suite. When they got into their suite, they sat together cuddled on the couch in the living room and sipped their cognac while discussing their next move.

Perry made the first suggestion. "We'll take a trip to the U.S. Embassy right away in the morning. What time does your art class begin tomorrow?"

Della yawned before she answered. "Ten o'clock. But I can call them to cancel my classes and tell them about our situation..."

Perry interrupted her. "Oh no you won't cancel... I can take care of things while you go to school."

Della began to protest, but Perry cut in again. "Shh. You're here to enjoy art school. Let me take care of things." He kissed her cheek. "You're a tired girl. Let's get you to bed so you're rested up for school. I'm going to call our bank in Los Angeles to close that office checking account and cancel my credit cards. I'll come to bed shortly."

Della took another big sip of her cognac. "Don't be too long..." She put her glass down on the table and walked into the bedroom to get ready for bed.

After speaking to his banker in Los Angeles, Perry turned off the living room lights and took his glass of cognac to stand in front of the balcony doors looking out over the city. The more he thought about the stolen property and LeMaire's attitude, the more irritated he became.

After ten minutes of waiting for Perry to come to bed, Della called out for him. When she didn't get a reply, she got out of bed, put on her robe, and walked to the bedroom door to look into the darkened living room for him. She saw his silhouette standing by the balcony doors with the glow of a lit cigarette in his hand.

"Perry! What on earth?" She walked over to him as he turned towards her. "Where did you get that cigarette? May I remind you that you promised to quit smoking last New Year's Eve?"

Perry crushed out the cigarette in an ash tray right away and was apologetic. "I'm sorry... When I bought the cognac, I just automatically bought a pack of smokes..."

Della put her arms around his waist and laid her head on his chest. "So much for your New Year's resolution..."

Perry embraced her and kissed her forehead. "I'll throw out the rest of the pack..."

She backed away and took a hold of his hands walking him to the bedroom. "Come on... It's bedtime... Like you said earlier, we'll get through this somehow. We always do."

They went to bed and quickly drifted off to sleep in each others' arms still wondering what would happen in the morning.

 **TBC**

Thank you for reading. I appreciate your comments and reviews.


	5. Chapter 5

**Chapter Five**

By five-thirty in the morning, Perry was already out of bed and had finished taking a shower. He did not sleep very well at all overnight, mostly because he was still angry with the way he was treated by _Chief_ Inspector Henri LeMaire. Perry decided that he would try to speak with someone at the police station with more authority over LeMaire. While getting dressed in the dark bedroom, he heard Della stir in the bed.

She softly called out for him. "Perry? What time is it?"

Perry sat down on the bed beside her. "It's early. Go back to sleep."

"But you're already dressed..." Della tried to take the blanket off of her to get out of the bed.

"It's too early for you to get up. It's only five-thirty. I just couldn't sleep." Perry gently coaxed her to lay back down and covered her with the blanket. "I'm going to go downstairs for a little while. I'll bring some coffee back up here for you in a couple of hours." He kissed her on the cheek. "Go back to sleep..."

"I'm wide awake now. I can take a quick shower and be ready to go with you in under ten minutes..." Della started to get out of bed again.

Perry put an arm around her as she sat up in the bed and reached for her robe. "You need to rest, baby. Go back to sleep and I'll wake you for breakfast later. I'll order room service and we can talk before we figure out what to do next."

Della knew that with Perry's current vexation, he would want to be alone to think through a plan. She gave in and laid back down. "Okay... But please leave me a message or call if you're going to leave the hotel. You shouldn't be out wandering around in your state of mind."

He tucked the blanket around her and kissed her. "I'll stay out of trouble."

"And remember your New Year's resolution – no smoking..." Della heard him mutter an obedient "Humph" reply before he left the room.

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Perry got down to the hotel lobby area where it was still quiet for the early morning hour. He found the clerk at the front desk and began his quest for some information there.

The desk clerk greeted him right away. "Bonjour Monsieur..."

"Uh, bonjour... Parlez-vous anglais?"

"Of course sir. How may I help you?"

Perry knew that his question would be odd, but he asked anyway. "I need to know what part of Paris we are in. Which neighborhood? Or as you might refer to it as which _arrondissement_?"

"This is the eighth arrondissement, Monsieur. Would you like a map of the area?" The clerk reached below the counter to bring out a map.

Perry thought it over. "Uh, merci. A map will be good."

Together they studied the map, then the clerk offered a larger map of the whole city to help Perry further.

After staring at the map and conversing with the clerk, Perry learned that Della's art classes are in the sixth arrondissement at _École_ _Nationale_ _supérieure_ _des_ _Beaux-arts_. From there the day before, they travelled into the seventh arrondissement where they met with Marc Gilles, the estate tax attorney. It was also the area where they were victims of the roving band of thieves.

Before he let the clerk return to his normal duties, he asked him to mark the map for the nearest police station in the eighth arrondissement. That was going to be Perry's first stop of the morning.

The nearest police station was within walking distance from the hotel. Perry left a message for Della with the desk clerk before he began his walk. His new plan of action was to speak with someone in authority at a police station other than the one where _Chief_ Inspector Henri LeMaire was assigned. Even thinking of LeMaire's police title made Perry loathe the detective even more.

It was shortly before seven o'clock when Perry arrived at the police station. The officer assigned to the front desk informed Perry that there was a change of shift going on and if he wanted to speak to someone in charge, he would need to wait. Perry thanked the officer and sat down in the lobby area.

After the shift change a young police officer approached Perry in the lobby area. He looked to be about twenty-two years old. "Bonjour. I am Lieutenant Freyleau. I understand that you want to speak to someone in charge?"

Perry stood up to greet him wondering how such a young man could be at a rank high enough to be in charge of a police station. He thought that perhaps this young Lieutenant was sent out by his boss to see Perry. "Uh, yes... Oui. If you could let whoever is in charge here know that I need to speak to him about a problem that I had with another policeman last night."

Freyleau corrected Perry right away. "At this hour of the day, I am in charge here, Monsieur. What is your complaint?"

"Oh, I see. My apologies, Lieutenant. It's just that I thought... Oh, never mind what I thought." Without mentioning which Police Station and LeMaire's name, Perry began to tell the Lieutenant about his experience the night before. "I reported a crime. There were several suspects detained for stealing my property. I informed the detective clearly that the people he detained were involved in the crime. But he let them go. I asked the detective if I could speak with those suspects to see if I could find my valuables that they had taken, but he basically threw me out of the police station..."

At that point, Freyleau interrupted him. "Did this occur near here, Monsieur? I reviewed the reports from overnight and I did not see anything like that reported here..."

"No, it did not happen here. But this is the closest police station to my hotel and I thought that I could ask for your help..."

Freyleau cut him off again. "Monsieur, you need to return to the police station where this occurred and report it to that detective's superior. Our policies on situations like this are very clear. I cannot help you here."

Perry just shook his head and gave up. It was going to be no good for him to report his complicated problem with LeMaire to a young inexperienced Lieutenant. He thanked Freyleau for his time and left.

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When Perry got back to the hotel suite, he brought up a large container of fresh coffee from the lobby cafe. He found Della sitting in front of the open balcony doors.

"Wow. You're already up and dressed! I thought you'd still be sleeping. It's not even seven-thirty yet."

Della stood up and gave him a hug after he placed the coffee on the table. "I couldn't sleep. I got the message that you left the hotel. I've only been sitting here for a few minutes..."

Perry held her for a moment and then kissed her cheek. "I visited a police station near our hotel, but what I had planned to do there will not work out. So I'm back to square one..." He changed the subject. "I ordered room service breakfast for us. I thought you'd still be sleeping so it won't be delivered here for another ten minutes or so."

Della left his embrace to begin pouring coffee into the cups that Perry brought along with the coffee. "Are you going to tell me what we're planning to do?"

He took the cup of coffee that she had poured for him. "I was going to report LeMaire's behavior to a higher authority at another police station to see if someone could help us out, but the young man in charge at the police station near here looked to be too much _by-the_ - _book_ for my purposes."

"And what exactly will your ' _purposes'_ be _,_ Counselor?" Della sat down on the couch with her coffee.

"My _purpose_ is to expose the underhanded way that this so-called 'Chief' detective LeMaire conducts his investigations. For some reason, he's not being very honest with us. I don't trust him at all, Della." He sipped from his coffee cup. "I just wish there was a way to figure out why he's so spiteful towards us – and other American tourists in general."

A knock on the door indicated that their breakfast order had arrived. When the room service attendant left, Della got up to begin serving the meal. Perry stopped her.

"S'il vous-plait, Mademoiselle. Permettez-moi!" Perry grinned as he rolled the breakfast cart towards their small dining table. He took Della's hand and assisted her to her seat at the table.

She smiled up at him. "Merci, Monsieur. Qu'est ce qu'on mange?" She placed a napkin on her lap.

He lifted the lid off the first plate. "French toast with bacon on the side." Next, he uncovered a bowl. "And assorted fresh fruit." He pulled a strawberry from the bowl and held it with his thumb and a finger for Della to bite. "I hope this meal pleases my girl..."

Della swallowed the strawberry in one bite. "It's perfect, Monsieur! I'm starving!"

Perry just grinned. "Naturally!"

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The U.S. Embassy was very close to their hotel, so Perry and Della easily walked there in the bright morning sunshine. Once inside, they found the passport services office right away so they could report that their passports were stolen. The receptionist behind a long counter took their names and told them that there was one other person ahead of them waiting for help. A clerk would call for them soon.

Perry and Della sat down in the large lobby area and watched as others came in for help after them. Within twenty minutes, nearly every chair was occupied in the waiting area.

Della leaned over to Perry. "I'm glad that we got here early. This is a popular place this morning."

Perry commented back, "Ha! They're probably all victims of theft from last night – just like us..."

He barely finished that sentence when their names were called. A young man greeted them behind the long counter and directed them to his small office area nearby.

"I am Mr. Sauden, an Intern with passport services. How may I help you today?" He directed Perry and Della to be seated.

Perry began explaining right away. "Our passports were stolen last night. We need to start the process to replace them."

"I see. You've come to the right place, but I warn you – it takes up to three weeks to replace a passport." Sauden brought out two forms to record information from them. "Let's start with your full names. I'll need to see some identification please."

While Della opened her purse to take out her drivers license for identification, Perry frowned and told the young intern his name. He quickly added that his wallet with his identification was also stolen.

That prompted the intern's next question. "Did you report this theft to the police Mr. Mason?" He took Della's identification to begin filling out her passport replacement application.

"We did report it to the police. They even caught the culprits but they let them go!"

The intern paused for a moment while he recorded Della's information on his report. "Okay, Mr. Mason, I will need a copy of the police report that they gave you." He handed Della's identification back to her.

Perry told the intern right away that he was not given a copy of the police report. He was starting to get frustrated. "Mr. Sauden, let me explain the whole incident to you. A group of young men and women accosted us as we stood by a fountain. Before we knew it, they were gone – and so was my briefcase with our passports and other important papers. They also got away with my wallet and my checkbook. We reported this to the police, a detective took down our information, and eventually I identified all of the perpetrators. Next thing we knew, we were abruptly asked to leave the police station. So at what point in all of that was I going to get a copy of a police report?"

Sauden appeared sympathetic, but told Perry that he would need at least one form of identification – preferably a photo identification, _and_ a copy of the police report to process the application for the stolen passport.

Perry was feeling quite dismayed and shook his head. "I can't believe this. We're victims of a crime in a foreign country. The police have not been very supportive. And now our very own Embassy is treating us like we're as dishonest as the criminals that stole our property..."

Sauden slowly nodded. "I understand what you're going through, Mr. Mason. But you need to understand that I have a job to do also. I will help you all that I can, but I must verify your story so the process to replace your passports can begin without any doubt as to who you are."

Perry sat back in his chair and folded his arms across his chest. Della tried to pacify Perry so that he wouldn't lose his temper. She also wanted assurances from Sauden that if they provide him with the required documents, that he would expedite their passport applications. "Mr. Sauden, do you have a checklist that we can take with us so that we can gather up everything that you need to finish our application? We'll return as soon as we can if you'll give us assurances that we can meet again with you directly."

Perry and Della left the Embassy with an appointment in four days to meet again with Mr. Sauden. When they stepped outside onto the sidewalk in front of the Embassy building Della arched an eyebrow when she noticed Perry begin to pat down and search through his suit coat pockets.

"I hope that you're not looking for your cigarettes, Mr. Mason."

Perry stopped and shook his head smiling. "Well one thing is certain – I'm not looking for my wallet... It's a good thing that you're with me to keep me in line. I really _could_ use a smoke right now..." He gave her a hug and kissed her forehead. "I'll be a good boy and not start smoking again. Now let's find a taxi so you can get to school."

"And what will you be doing while I'm in art classes?"

"I'll go to the police station and throw myself at their mercy to beg them for a copy of our police report." He gave her a wink. "And I promise to be a good boy there, too!"

As they got to the street corner outside of the Embassy to look for a taxi, both of them failed to notice Inspector LeMaire watching them from across the street. As Perry and Della got into the taxi that they flagged down, LeMaire stomped out his cigarette on the sidewalk and got back into his car to continue following them – just as covertly as he had followed them from their hotel that morning.

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Before Della went to her art school at ten o'clock, she and Perry had time to stop at a street vendor near her art school to buy something for Della to eat later for lunch. Her classes for the day would continue over the lunch hour, but only last until two o'clock. Perry promised to meet her at the school at two o'clock. After a quick kiss goodbye outside of the school, the two parted ways.

Inspector LeMaire watched as Perry and Della split up – Della going into the school, and Perry walking to a public payphone. Perry had planned to meet with Vincent for another cooking lesson while Della was going to art class, but he decided to call Vincent to cancel for the day so that he could work on getting the police report.

When Vincent got on the phone, Perry began to explain why he would have to cancel their cooking lesson for the day. "I'm sorry that we'll have to postpone our lesson today, Vincent. A problem came up last evening and I need to work on resolving this situation."

"What is this situation, Perry? Perhaps I can help?"

Perry thought it over. "Della and I were robbed after dinner last evening. They got away with my wallet and my briefcase with passports and other papers."

"I hope that you reported this to the police!"

" _That_ , my friend, is part of the problem. It's a long story. Right now I need to return to the police station and try to get a copy of the police report to take back to the U.S. Embassy so we can replace our passports."

Vincent sensed that he was frustrated. "I'll tell you what, Perry. You go to the police station to get your report. When you finish, come here to cooking class. I thought we would try chicken cordon bleu today. Very simple and very good. It will be a nice afternoon snack for you my friend."

Perry thought it over. "Okay. You've talked me into it. I will see you in about two hours."

Inspector LeMaire saw Perry walk away from the payphone and get into a taxi. Suddenly LeMaire had to quickly make a decision – should he stay and wait for Della to leave the school, or should he follow Perry? He opted to stay at the school and find out more about Della.

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When Perry got to the police station he found it very active inside. There was even a small line of people in front of the two officers at the desk. While he waited in line he watched as an officer was shouting at a man as the man was being escorted out of the building. As that man went out the door, two officers were bringing in a prisoner in handcuffs. Perry just shook his head – it sort of reminded him of activities at police headquarters in Los Angeles.

Finally after ten minutes, it was Perry's turn to walk up the long railing at the front desk. "Bonjour. S'il vous-plait, parlez-vous anglais?"

The officer nodded. "Yes, I speak english."

Perry got right to his purpose for being there. "I reported a robbery last evening. Inspector LeMaire took the report. Today, I need a copy of his report."

The officer gave a look of dismay and whispered something to the other officer at the desk. He then replied to Perry. "First we will need to find the report. Normally the report will need to be picked up in our records division at our central headquarters. But since you reported it last night we will see if it is here. What is your name?"

"My name is Perry Mason."

"Oui, Monsieur Mason." The officer stepped back and instructed the other officer to go and look for the report. He then turned back to Perry. "Will you please wait off to the side while we look for it?"

Perry stepped aside. "Merci. I will wait right here." The next man in line was called to the railing by the desk officer.

After about ten minutes, the desk officer called Perry's name. Perry stepped back up to the railing in front of the desk.

"Monsieur Mason. We found your name on a log that shows that you were here last evening. I am sad to report that Inspector LeMaire has not finished a police report on the incident yet. He is the only one that can write the report. He is not scheduled to work again until tomorrow evening."

Perry took in a deep breath and slowly exhaled. He was not expecting that news. "Is there a police report number – a case number that I can have? It is very important that I leave here with something that says there is or will be a police report."

"Again, I am sorry Monsieur Mason. If you will return tomorrow after five o'clock, you can speak to Inspector LeMaire about this."

"How about if I speak with Officer Beauchamp? He knows about my incident last night." Perry was not about to leave without something in writing that says he reported a theft.

"If Officer Beauchamp works tonight, you can come back to speak with him after four o'clock."

Perry looked at his watch and it was only ten-thirty. He tried one last plea for help. "Merci. I will try to come back to look for Officer Beauchamp. But for right now, I would like to speak with someone who is in charge at this police station. Please?"

The officer nodded. "Oui. Please step aside and wait."

It was over twenty minutes before the officer in charge called for Perry to meet him at the side gate. Perry just shook his head when he saw him. The Lieutenant sent to meet with him was even younger looking than Lieutenant Freyleau at the police station by his hotel. This Lieutenant told Perry that any complaint about Inspector LeMaire would have to be handled by LeMaire's supervisor. Unfortunately, LeMaire's supervisor was not working again for two more days. This young Lieutenant could not even provide Perry with the police report case number. Perry held back his anger and politely thanked him for his time before he left the police station.

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Inspector LeMaire walked into the admissions office in the art school and displayed his police credentials to the clerk behind the counter. Speaking in French, he told the clerk that he wanted information on a student. He opened his pocket notebook to appear more businesslike and asked for information on Della Street. In checking the student records, the clerk discovered that Della Street was attending the school under special circumstances that were considered confidential. The clerk dutifully referred LeMaire to a higher authority at the academic association through the Académie des Beaux-Arts who was sponsoring Della Street at this school. LeMaire left the office only knowing that Della was enrolled.

Frustrated that he was not getting the information he wanted about Della Street, LeMaire walked back to his car parked nearby and contemplated his next move. Lighting a cigarette and waiting to cross a street to get to his car, he noticed a local con man that was working the street in front of a row of shops. From several prior arrests of this cheat, LeMaire knew right away that Fulbert Gasiere was targeting tourists with some sort of con game. An idea popped into his head right away.

Quietly walking up behind Gasiere, LeMaire startled the con man. "Bonjour, Monsieur Gasiere!"

Gasiere recognized the voice right away and slowly turned around to face LeMaire. "Je suis _innocent_ , Inspecteur LeMaire!"

LeMaire just laughed. "You have not been innocent of anything since you came back to Paris five years ago!"

Fulbert Gasiere was born to a British mother and French father twenty years ago in Paris. His parents split up when he was twelve years old. He lived six months of the year in London with his mother and the other six months in Paris with his father. At age fifteen, he got tired of the back and forth so he opted to stay in Paris with his father who was less of a disciplinarian than his mother. Gasiere took to the streets at night when his father took to the pubs. He hooked up with an old friend and before they knew it, they were making big money from unsuspecting tourists with the pigeon drop con. Soon, he dabbled in the foreign money exchange con game with gullible tourists. But after being busted by LeMaire on his profitable pickpocket operation, he became one of the "usual suspects" the police would round up when the police would need a scapegoat in solving a crime.

"I swear to you, Inspector LeMaire, I am not involved in any criminal behavior right now." Gasiere was nervous around LeMaire. "I have stayed out of your neighborhood since the last time we talked."

"Well for today, _this_ is my neighborhood. And if you don't want to spend time in my jail, you will do me a favor today." LeMaire grabbed onto Gasiere's arm and walked him over to his car. "Get into my car. I will tell you how you can stay out of jail today."

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Vincent saw the disgruntled look on Perry's face as Perry walked into Vincent's office. "You do not look happy, my friend." Vincent brought out a bottle of Calvados Brandy from his desk drawer. "You should take a drink."

Perry's eyes lit up when he saw the jug. "Merci! That might be just what I need right now!"

Vincent poured two glasses of the brandy and motioned for Perry to sit down. "So tell me what is so troubling. You were robbed. I hope you were not hurt."

Perry took a large gulp of the brandy before he replied. "No, we were not hurt. But those thieves took all of our important papers – our passports, our marriage application papers and approved marriage certificate." He paused and took another swig. "Even my wallet and checkbook were taken from my pocket. Vincent, I even positively identified the culprits that they rounded up, but the asinine detective let them go! I couldn't even try to talk to those thieves before he kicked Della and me out of the police station!" Perry continued to shake his head between sips of brandy.

"Well, let me cheer you up. I think I have found a nice place for your honeymoon!" Vincent leaned forward in his chair all excited to tell Perry more about the place. "A friend has offered his nice cottage in the Loire Valley for you to use whenever you want. It is vacant right now while he prepares to sell it."

Perry was just staring into his empty brandy glass. "Ha! Without our papers, there can be no marriage ceremony. Without a wedding, I can't have a honeymoon!"

Vincent refilled Perry's glass. "Tell me more about this – what did you call him – the asinine detective? Perhaps if I know more about him, I can find someone to help you adjust his attitude. I happen to know of a high-ranking police official – I think he is a Captain or maybe a higher rank. His daughter is a student here in our baker's program. I will gladly tell him of your problem."

Perry swirled the brandy around in his glass and thought it over. "Anything might help. I've asked twice to speak to someone in charge and I'm always shuffled off to these young Lieutenants that look like they're fresh out of the police academy. They would never be able to stand up to another officer and rectify a complaint."

Vincent finished his glass of brandy and laughed. "You have 'tourist' written all over your face. Let a local Frenchman who teaches cooking lessons help you take care of your problem with our police force. But first, let's learn how to fix a simple chicken cordon bleu!"

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Perry arrived early back at the art school and took the opportunity to sit out in the warm sun on a bench to wait for Della to come out. Vincent gave him some good advice during his cooking lesson and Perry decided to heed the advice by taking advantage of the help that locals can give. Vincent further advised that Perry should relax more – this situation will work itself out in time. If Perry can loosen up a little, it will not cause Della any stress. Perry had a plan in mind for Della when she was finished with her class.

LeMaire spotted Perry sitting on the bench outside of the school. He gave Gasiere his final instructions. "There is your mark. Soon he will be joined by a woman. Follow them and do your job." He also gave Gasiere a warning. "And remember, I'll be watching. If you mess this up, you will regret it! Now get going!"

Gasiere watched as Perry stood up and met with Della when she came out of the school. He stayed a little distance away waiting for them to leave the area. In LeMaire's plan, if Perry and Della get in a taxi, Gasiere will get back in LeMaire's car and they will follow them. If Perry and Della walk away, Gasiere will follow them closely.

Della was all excited when she greeted Perry with a very spirited kiss. "I hope I've mentioned to you how much I love this school!" She stood in his embrace and tightly hugged him back. "And I hope I've mentioned how much I love _you_!"

Perry grinned. "You've mentioned both! And I love that you love your school and I love you, too." He kissed her back. "That's a lot of love in the City of Love!" He loosened his embrace. "We have the rest of the day and all night to enjoy ourselves. What would you like to do?"

Della's immediate concern was with what Perry had accomplished while she attended class. "My goodness, you sound so cheerful now. I'm assuming that you've resolved the police report situation?"

Perry put an arm around her and they began to slowly walk away from the school. "I'll just say that I did _not_ get the police report issue resolved, but I will work it out. I've decided that worrying about a situation that we cannot control is spoiling our vacation in Paris. So for right now, let's stop fretting over that and do something fun!"

With a raised eyebrow, Della asked what he had in mind.

"I think we should go shopping. Just look at all of the nice shops along this street." Perry pointed across the street.

"Until you recover your wallet, how do you intend to buy something _nice_ in these _nice_ shops?"

"Aha! You didn't listen very carefully. I said we should go _shopping_ – I didn't say anything about _buying_!"

Della just chuckled. "Once again, you've tricked me with your word games."

Perry smiled at her. "Let's look in the jewelry store across the street. After all, we're here for a wedding. We might as well look at rings!"

They began to cross the street as Della began fussing about looking at rings. "I like the rings we already wear. They have special meanings for each of us. Don't you remember that I bought you the pinky ring for your left hand when you gave me the pinky ring for my right hand?"

Perry interjected. "I remember all about it. We bought them so when we're dancing or holding hands, my ring and your ring are bonded together just like we are in life."

"Right. So why do we need another ring? If we start wearing wedding rings, the tabloids back home will be all over that gossip."

"Well, we're not back home and I could care less about tabloids while we're here in Paris. So let's just _look_ at jewelry."

Gasiere was following Perry and Della close enough to know that they were going to walk into a jewelry store. He glanced back over his shoulder and saw LeMaire watching his every move. He nodded a signal to LeMaire that indicated he was about to make his move. LeMaire stopped at a police call box nearby and summoned a policeman to come to the area right away.

While Perry and Della strolled around in the jewelry store, Gasiere fingered the stolen jewelry in his pants pocket. It was given to him by LeMaire so he could slip the stolen jewels into Perry's suit coat pocket. He was just waiting to make his move.

Outside of the store, LeMaire was met by the neighborhood beat cop right away. Lemaire reported that a man had stolen a bracelet and a diamond necklace from him and he was in the jewelry store right now. He gave the cop Perry's description and told him that Perry was an American.

Gasiere looked outside and saw LeMaire speaking with the beat cop. He made his move bumping up against Perry as LeMaire watched from the door. As Gasiere apologized to Perry for bumping into him, the beat cop rushed into the store.

The cop grabbed onto Perry right away. "Stop right there Monsieur! Do not move! You are under arrest!"

LeMaire watched it all with a big grin on his face. He thought to himself that soon he would be able to make his move on a very weary Della Street while her American fiancée sits in a Paris jail.

 **TBC**

Thank you for taking the time to comment on the story. And as always, thanks for reading!


	6. Chapter 6

**Chapter Six**

There was a reason that Perry and Della always preferred to shop at smaller, locally owned businesses. Most of all, it came down to customer service. A local business owner would usually make every effort to please the customer. They always wanted satisfied customers to return and give recommendations to other potential customers about their shopping experience in addition to their products. Chances are, the business owner was usually the one waiting on the customers in their store. Such was the case in the small jewelry store that Perry and Della entered to look at wedding rings.

Before store owner Monica LeClerc could come out from behind a counter to greet the well-to-do familiar-looking couple walking into her shop, she noticed the local con artist Fulbert Gasiere walking in right after the couple. Monica had seen Gasiere loitering outside of several of the businesses in the area and the beat cops warned each business owner of his criminal ways. So when the beat cop rushed into her store and latched onto Perry right away, she knew that Gasiere was involved in something shady.

Perry did not resist his detention by the beat cop, but he was certainly startled. It all happened so quickly – someone bumps into him and begins to walk away, then suddenly there is a cop involved. Perry instantly knew something was wrong. But before Perry could act to stop the man who bumped into him from leaving the store, it was all taken care of when Monica pushed a button under the counter which locked the main door automatically. Gasiere frantically tried to open the door and make his escape, but it was no use. Within an instant, everything that was moving so quickly was now stalling out.

Monica shouted at Gasiere. "The door is locked, Monsieur. I think the policeman will agree that no one should leave this store until we find out what has happened here."

The policeman nodded his approval. "Merci, Mademoiselle. I am acting on a report of a robbery. Nobody will leave right now!" The policeman still had a grip on Perry's arm. "Monsieur, I ask that you empty your pockets on the counter." He directed Perry to a nearby display case.

Monica politely interrupted. "Officer, I believe you have the wrong man for any sort of robbery accusation. I know this man. He is Perry Mason – a very reputable and honest attorney from America..."

Perry and Della were stunned at Monica's statement. They looked at Monica closely and instantly recognized her from somewhere in America.

Monica continued. "The man you should check on is the one trying to leave so suddenly."

The policeman agreed. "Oui, Mademoiselle. I know Monsieur Gasiere very well... But for right now, _this_ man is under arrest." He continued to hold on to Perry.

Gasiere was really nervous now with two pieces of stolen jewelry in his pockets. He looked out the window and saw that LeMaire was still looking into the store from the sidewalk outside. He quickly thought up a diversion so he could somehow blame LeMaire.

"S'il vous-plait! I can explain. There is a man outside who sent me to follow these two." He pointed at Perry and Della. "That man outside was going to make me try to plant jewelry in this man's pocket that the man outside will say is stolen from him. I tried to put it in his pocket, but I was not successful." Gasiere fingered a stolen bracelet in his pocket. His thought was to show them the bracelet, but keep the more valuable diamond necklace for himself.

When the policeman loosened his grip on him, Perry quickly walked away towards the window. He caught a glimpse of LeMaire standing on the sidewalk outside. LeMaire had seen Perry's move towards the window and tried to duck behind a truck parked at the curb in front of the store.

"It's LeMaire!" Perry started for the door to go out and confront him but the door was still locked. He could only watch from the door as LeMaire quickly walked away.

The policeman also saw the man walking away from the store but decided to take charge of the scene in the store rather than try to run after him. "Let me get this straight..." He looked at Gasiere. "A man made _you_ try to plant stolen jewels on _this_ man." He pointed to Perry. "The man that just walked away called me and told me that he was robbed and described _you_." Then the policeman turned back to Gasiere. "Where is the stolen jewelry you were supposed to secretly place in his pocket?"

Gasiere brought the bracelet out of his pocket. "Right here, Monsieur." He gave the policeman the bracelet.

The policeman examined it and then brought it over to Monica. "Does this look valuable to you?"

Monica took a close look at the bracelet. "It is sterling silver... The stones look like real diamonds... I would have to guess that it is valuable, but I am not an expert appraiser..."

During the discussion about the bracelet, Perry walked over to Della who was just standing by a counter watching the action. Perry put his arm around her. "Are you okay?"

Della smiled up at him and held onto his arm. "I'm fine. I was worried about you, though." She nodded towards Monica who was still speaking with the policeman about the bracelet. "I know where we've seen the store owner before... She designed the pendant necklace with my initials on it... The one you gave me for my birthday last year."

"Yes! I remember her now. The pendant was one of Lieutenant Tragg's favorite necklaces." Perry was now grinning. "Tragg sarcastically said that he'd always remember your name when he saw the 'DS' initials..."

The policeman turned his attention to Gasiere so Monica walked over to Perry and Della.

"It's a small world, Mr. Mason... Miss Street... Welcome to my jewelry store!"

Della held out her hand to shake Monica's hand while Perry kept his arm around Della. "Paris is a long way from the Carmel Art Fair. It's so nice to see you again, Monica."

Monica was smiling. "I must say it's nice to see you two again. The success of my small jewelry booth at the art fair was mostly due to your recommendations to your friends and clients. To make a long story short, last summer I married a Frenchman and now, here I am in Paris with my own store."

Perry politely listened to Monica's story. "I beg to differ. The success of your jewelry booth at the art fair was due to your skills in creating fine pieces of jewelry." He excused himself to walk over to the policeman and Gasiere while Della and Monica began chatting about the art fair.

The policeman was getting more details of the setup and Gasiere was in the middle of spilling the whole story when Perry stood with them. "...So that detective gave me the stolen bracelet. He recovers these stolen things when he arrests the robbery suspects, then he keeps them for himself. He either sells the stuff or uses them for situations like this. That's how he operates, you know. He told me that if I do not put the goods in this man's pocket, he would put me in jail on some false charges. I did not have a choice!" Gasiere nodded to Perry as he stood nearby. "Je regrette, Monsieur."

Perry gave Gasiere a nod to acknowledge the feeble apology, but then frowned at him before he turned to the policeman. "I will want this man's name. I know the man that got away. He is Police Inspector Henri LeMaire. I reported a theft to him last evening at his police station. I don't know what he's up to, but I will want this incident written in an official police report."

"Oui, Monsieur." The policeman was sympathetic. "When I am finished with this man here, I will ask you to come with me to my police sub-station on the next block. I do not know Inspector LeMaire personally, but I have heard of his reputation." He turned back to Gasiere. "I am keeping this bracelet, Monsieur Gasiere. And your name will be listed on my report. I will let you go for now, but if I see you on my beat anymore, I will arrest you. Now get out of my sight!" The policeman asked Monica to unlock the door so Gasiere could leave.

When Gasiere got outside, he looked around for any sign of LeMaire. Not seeing him nearby, he took off running for the nearest bus stop still holding the diamond necklace in his pants pocket. He planned to relocate to another Paris neighborhood where he could sell the jewelry.

Perry and Della followed the policeman to his sub-station for the report. Before leaving the store they arranged to meet up with Monica when they finished the police report. They decided that as soon as Monica closes her store for the night, they would all meet at a nearby bistro for an early dinner.

 **DSXOPMXODSXOPMXODSXOPMXODSXOPMXODSXOPMXODSXOPMXODSXOPMXO**

Gasiere was frantically packing some clothing in a suitcase on the bed at his small apartment when Inspector LeMaire kicked in the apartment door.

"You failed me, you idiot!" LeMaire immediately grabbed Gasiere by his throat and pinned him against a wall. "Now you will tell me what happened in the jewelry store!"

Gasiere was struggling to breathe. "Let me go! I can't breathe! It was not my fault!"

LeMaire relaxed his grip. "What do you mean, it was not your fault? I told you what you had to do!"

"The policeman came in too soon. I did not get the jewels into the man's pocket!" Gasiere was trying to stall to come up with a good excuse.

LeMaire grabbed the front of Gasiere's shirt with one hand and slapped him in the face hard with his other hand. "You lie! I saw you make the move! If you did not plant the jewels, where are they?"

Gasiere wiped a spot of blood from his mouth. "The policeman took the jewels..."

"Why did he do that? How did he know what you were doing?"

"I don't know how he knew!" Gasiere was trying to stall so he could come up with a way to get out of the apartment. "Maybe he saw the bracelet sticking out of my pocket!"

LeMaire kneed Gasiere in the gut. "You are still lying!"

Gasiere was bent forward trying to recover from the blow to his abdomen. He saw the small metal shovel for his fireplace leaning against the wall at his feet. He continued to cough while still leaning forward and slowly grabbed onto the shovel without LeMaire seeing him. When he recovered enough from the kick in his gut, he quickly stood up and hit LeMaire over the head with the shovel. LeMaire fell back onto the floor, stunned by the blow to his head. As Gasiere tried to grab his suitcase and run, LeMaire tripped him and Gasiere was now on the floor, too. LeMaire swiftly got up from the floor and stood over Gasiere. He began kicking him. Gasiere could not fight off the powerful kicks to his ribs and head so he curled up into a fetal position.

Nearly out of breath from repeatedly kicking Gasiere, LeMaire stepped back and watched for Gasiere to try and get up. While Gasiere just laid on the floor moaning in pain, LeMaire looked around the tiny apartment. On the bed next to Gasiere's suitcase, LeMaire saw the diamond necklace laying on the bed cover. He picked up the necklace and put it in his pocket.

"You are a fool, Gasiere!" LeMaire wiped his sweating brow with a handkerchief. "Now you will owe me a bigger favor!" He kicked Gasiere hard again. "Get up you coward. I have another job for you now!"

When LeMaire got outside of the apartment into his car, he lit a cigarette. After a quick glance at his watch, LeMaire started the motor and began driving in the afternoon traffic. He now had a new plan to disrupt the marriage plans for the beautiful Della Street and her fiancée Perry Mason. That new plan would be carried out by Gasiere by the end of the day or Gasiere would be tossed into jail for a long time.

 **PMXODSXOPMXODSXOPMXODSXOPMXODSXOPMXODSXOPMXODSXOPMXODSXO**

Perry and Della returned to their hotel after getting an official police report about the incident in Monica's jewelry store. Once they were back in their suite, Della suggested that they take some time to relax before their dinner meet with Monica. Perry opened a bottle of wine and they both sat side-by-side in lounge chairs out on their balcony enjoying the late afternoon sun.

Perry was still trying to figure out why LeMaire was harassing them. "I just can't figure him out, Della. Even the policeman at the store said that he knows of LeMaire's reputation, but he still gets away with these things."

With her right hand, Della reached over to Perry's left hand and lightly squeezed it. Their rings that they purchased many years ago at the Carmel Art Fair were lightly touching each other.

"Well, for some reason he's getting away with his bad behavior. He's probably been doing this for years. I think we should just avoid him altogether... Find his superior officer and deal directly with him..." Della sighed and took a sip of wine. "He scares me... Not for my safety or anything like that, but for what he just tried to do to you!"

"I'll admit, that little stunt caught me a little off guard." Perry brought Della's hand up to his lips for a kiss. "But he won't get away with anything like that from now on. I've been thinking about this... I think it's time we use our contacts here in France to deal with this fool LeMaire."

"Like who? The Claudet's? I thought that they were heading back home to Lyon?"

Perry sipped his wine. "No, not Marie's parents. But maybe our old friend Vincent Simone can help us..."

"I remember Vincent! You introduced me to him in New York when his friend opened a new French restaurant. He still runs a famous cooking school here, doesn't he?"

Perry just grinned and thought to himself, " _If she only knew_...". He answered her question right away. "Yes, he does. I'll think I'll give him a call later. Perhaps he has some advice for us on how to handle this _Chief_ Inspector Henri LeMaire..."

Della giggled. "If Vincent can't help with that, maybe he can give you advice on how to expertly flip an omelette." She laughed harder. "You made such a mess in your kitchen that one morning trying to show me that little flip motion! There was egg mixture all over the place!"

"Oh, you think that was funny, huh?" Perry moved closer to her and began tickling her side. "Is there anything else that you think is funny about my cooking?"

"Well, there was also the time that your Baked Alaska dessert turned into a river of neapolitan ice cream soup beneath the unbaked meringue..." She continued giggling and gently fought off his tickling.

"So now you've suddenly become a culinary critic?" Perry got even closer to her to hold back her hands while he tickled her even more.

Della was still laughing while trying to stop his tickling. "No! I think your cooking is wonderful!" She began squirming in her chair. "Now stop that... You'll spill my wine!" She was laughing louder.

Perry was now leaning over her and slowly turned his tickles into smooth caressing while he began kissing her neck. Della's giggling stopped as she clasped her arms around his neck and found his lips to kiss him back.

After a few more long kisses, Perry stood up and took her hands to help her up out of the chair. "Miss Street, if you don't stop kissing me like that, we might be late for our dinner meeting with Monica..."

"May I remind you, Mister Mason, that you started it..." She put her arms around his waist and laid her head against his chest.

Perry just held her close and they slowly swayed together while Perry softly hummed the words to the song ' _Car J_ _e_ _T'aime_ ' in her ear.

"Je t'aime encore plus quand t'es contre moi... j'ai chaud, je suis bien dans tes bras... Je ferme les yeux, tu ne parles pas... Et je peux rêver de toi..." *****

 **DSXOPMXODSXOPMXODSXOPMXODSXOPMXODSXOPMXODSXOPMXODSXOPMXO**

When the bottle of wine was empty, Perry and Della came into the suite from the balcony to get ready to go to dinner. While Della changed her clothes, Perry phoned Vincent and got the name and phone number for Vincent's contact on the Police Department. Perry was lucky enough to speak with Captain Maximilian Lavigne on the phone in his office. Captain Lavigne was very happy to meet with Perry and Della, and his office was on the way to the bistro where they were going to meet Monica.

From the hallway outside of Lavigne's office, Della read the French wording on the office door out loud. "Capitaine Maximilian Lavigne. Service de la Protection." She looked up to Perry before he reached to open the door. "His title indicates that he must be assigned to protect really important people."

Perry paused before opening the door. "Vincent mentioned something about his duties. What matters to me right now is that his rank is higher than LeMaire's and he has several years of experience on the police department. He won't be afraid to challenge LeMaire and hold him accountable for his criminal actions."

Captain Lavigne greeted them right away. "Bonjour! Please come in and sit down."

Perry held a chair for Della and then sat down in another chair next to her.

Lavigne continued. "When Vincent Simone told me that you were having difficulties here in Paris, I told him right away that I will do anything to help his friends."

Perry was pleased. "Merci, Captain Lavigne. Vincent speaks very highly of you."

"Aha! But S'il vous-plait, Monsieur Mason. Just call me Max. A rank title is not important to me."

Perry quickly glanced at Della, then replied to Lavigne. "Your status within the police force is very significant to us. But we'll call you Max if that's what you prefer."

Max got down to business. "I know you are on your way to a dinner meeting, so how can I assist Vincent's friends from America?"

Perry thoroughly explained their plight with LeMaire and the theft suspects from the night before. Max listened intently and visibly cringed as Perry described the incident in the jewelry store. When Perry finished the story, Max shook his head in disgust.

"Monsieur Mason, your story is very troubling to me. Tourists visiting France and citizens living in Paris should _never_ have to experience such fraudulent behavior from _any_ member of our police force. Inspector Henri LeMaire's conduct is deplorable. If what you say is true, I will personally see to it that he is investigated and dismissed from the force!"

Perry and Della left after thanking Max for his time and advice on what to do. Della was confident that Max would be a big help, but Perry had his doubts. He explained his cynicism as they were leaving the police headquarters building.

"I think Max finds it hard to believe that LeMaire is actually as corrupt as we've alleged that he is. You heard him - ' _if what you say is true_ '. Ha! Why would I be there making up lies?" He flagged down a taxi and continued. "I just don't know what to think anymore..."

They got into the taxi and Perry told the driver where they wanted to go. Della snuggled into Perry and tried to change Perry's way of thinking. "I think Captain Lavigne was really angry about how you were treated. Let's just wait and see. Right now, he's the only police official with any authority over LeMaire that is willing to help us..."

Perry put his arm around her and pulled her closer to him. "You're probably right... Let's just see what he comes up with by the time he calls me tomorrow afternoon."

 **PMXODSXOPMXODSXOPMXODSXOPMXODSXOPMXODSXOPMXODSXOPMXODSXO**

Perry and Della enjoyed a wonderful dinner with Monica. They caught up on what had been going on in their lives since they last saw each other at the Carmel Art Fair the year before. Monica's marriage was the highlight of their dinner conversation since Perry and Della did not want to bore Monica with all of the tedious legal cases they had been working on all year. Before they left the restaurant, they arranged for another dinner meeting soon on another night when Monica could introduce them to her husband.

Back at their hotel, as Perry and Della got off of the elevator on the floor to their suite, they greeted two room service attendants who were cleaning up empty dinner carts in the hallway. When Perry got to their door to unlock it, at the bottom of the door he noticed a light on inside. He stepped back from the door and gently guided Della away from the door putting a finger up to his mouth. "Shh."

Perry put his ear against the door and could hear movement inside. When he looked down at the bottom of the door again, he saw a shadow moving in the light. He walked Della away from the door and approached the room service attendants who were now waiting to put their carts on the elevator.

"Excusez-moi... Were either of you in our room recently? Would there be any reason for other hotel employees to be in our suite?"

The English-speaking attendant shrugged his shoulders and answered. "No, Monsieur. The maids would not be in your room. And unless you call the front desk, we do not send anyone up to the rooms at this hour."

Perry told the attendant to send his co-worker down to the lobby with Della. As he shuffled them into the elevator, he told Della to call the police right away. Perry then asked the other attendant to come into the suite with him to see who is in the room without their permission.

As they opened the door and carefully walked in, they found a very drunk and bloody Fulbert Gasiere sitting up on the floor waving around an empty bottle of wine in his hand. Perry quickly walked over to him and grabbed the wine bottle out of his hand. He looked at the attendant. "We better get this man an ambulance." Gasiere was incoherently mumbling to himself and now laid down on his side on the floor.

A few minutes later Della came back into the suite with the hotel security officer in front of her. She saw the unkempt Gasiere on the floor with Perry still standing over him. "What in the world...?"

While the security officer immediately walked over to assist Perry, Della looked around the room at overturned furniture and broken glass on the floor. "The police are on the way." She shook her head when she saw how bruised and bloody Gasiere was. "I wonder if he was trying to steal something?" She walked into the bedroom to look around.

Perry warned her to not touch anything until the police arrive. Seeing nothing out of place in the bedroom, she returned to the living room area and opened the balcony doors to let in some fresh air.

Soon, the police arrived with the hotel night manager. Perry began explaining what he found when he returned to his hotel suite and told the police about Gasiere's background.

When the ambulance attendants arrived with a stretcher, Gasiere began to stir. He shook his head and immediately began pleading to the policeman in the room. "Arrest this man!" He shook his fist at Perry. "This man tried to kill me!"

The policeman did not believe Gasiere and assisted the ambulance attendants in loading Gasiere onto the stretcher. "Right now, we will worry about you and your wounds." The policeman nodded to the ambulance attendants. "Emmenez-le a l'hôpital."

As they wheeled the stretcher out of the room, Gasiere was still mumbling and not making any sense. "He will kill me... I will go to jail... I hate Paris... LeMaire... Help me! Please help me!"

Within the hour, the hotel employees had cleaned their hotel suite and provided Perry and Della with a complimentary bottle of red wine and a plate of assorted cheeses and breads for a late-night snack. Della gladly sampled the cheese with a glass of wine while Perry paced back and forth in the room.

"I just know LeMaire had something to do with this!" Perry was frustrated once again. "It's too late to call Captain Lavigne right now. He's going to hear from me first thing in the morning..."

Della patted her hand on the couch cushion next to her. "Why don't you sit down and relax? Come here and drink your wine. This cheese is delicious."

Perry stopped pacing and stood next to the open balcony doors. "It's a good thing that the policeman didn't believe Gasiere's story... We had credible witnesses on our side for this incident, but what if LeMaire sets up another trap for us to fall into?" He glanced at his watch. "It's ten o'clock here. What time would it be back in LA?"

"Two o'clock in the afternoon, I think. Aren't we eight hours ahead of LA?" She sipped her wine.

Perry sat down on the couch next to her and grabbed the phone on the table. "I've had just about enough of LeMaire and his games. I'll get some real help for us right now!" He dialed the operator. "Opérateur? Longue distance a Los Angeles en Californie Amérique s'il vous-plait."

A few moments later Perry's call was connected. "Good afternoon. Drake Detective Agency..."

"Hello, Margo! Is your boss available?"

"Well, hello Mr. Mason! Are you back from Paris already?"

"No, we're still in Paris. But I need to speak with Paul about something..."

Margo paused. "I have to tell you, Mr. Mason. Paul has not been himself lately. After he came back from Mexico, he's barely been in the office at all. He's not here again today... I think there's something really wrong with him... Maybe you should try to call him at home..."

The long distance operator connected Perry to Paul's home phone. On the first try, the phone rang several times before the call was disconnected. After a back and forth conversation with the operator again, she informed Perry that the call was not disconnected on her end. The call was disconnected on Paul's end. Perry got the operator to try to put the call through again and after it rang several times again, a very weary voice finally answered in a gruff tone.

"What?!"

"Paul? It's me, Perry. Don't hang up! I'm calling from Paris! Are you okay, Paul?"

"No, I'm not okay. Now leave me alone. I still have a half a bottle of bourbon to finish!"

Perry was really concerned about Paul. He leaned over to Della with the phone so she could hear the conversation, too. "Talk to me Paul. Della is here with me, too. You don't sound so good. What's the matter?"

"Women! That's what's the matter. Now leave me alone. Please!"

"I can't do that, Paul. You're my best friend. Tell me what's wrong and maybe I can help?"

"You can't help me from Paris. You probably can't even help me from here – if you _were_ here!" Paul started to sound more lucid.

"That's part of my problem here in Paris. I can't get back there and it's a long story. I need your help, Paul." Perry was trying to keep him on the line.

"For the love of Pete! I don't know how I can even help myself, much less anyone else..." Paul began to sound like he might give in.

After a long conversation, Perry was able to pacify Paul enough to get Paul to settle down. He made his plea again to Paul. "Come to Paris. Please, Paul. Get away from LA for a while and we'll get you through whatever is getting you down. I really need your expertise here." Then he said the magic words. "I'm really in trouble, Paul..."

There was a brief silence on the phone but then Paul sighed. "Tell me what you need..."

Perry asked Paul to get out a notebook to write down his request. "Go to my office. You'll find my office American Express card in my desk drawer. There's also my Bar Association photo ID card in the drawer. I'll need that, too. Then get into Della's filing cabinet and find the file folder with copies of our birth certificates. I'll need you to bring them to Paris, too. Did you get all that?"

Paul mumbled, but read his notes back. "Desk drawer... Charge card... ID... Filing cabinet birth certificates..."

Perry looked at Della and shook his head hoping Paul would come through for him. "It sounds like you've got it all, Paul... I'll have a plane ticket waiting for you at the airline ticket counter." Perry tested Paul's coherence with one final question. "Do you have any questions for _me_ right now?"

"I sure do... Can you tell me how to get my marriage in Mexico annulled?"

 **TBC**

Thank you for reading and taking the time to write your comments on the story. Happy 94th birthday to Barbara Hale on 18 April!

 ***** English translation to lyrics for ' _Car J_ _e_ _T'aime_ ' (Because I Love You): "I love you even more when you're pressed against me. I'm warm, I feel good in your arms. I close my eyes, you stay silent. And I can dream of you."


	7. Chapter 7

**Chapter Seven**

Della's close circle of friends in Los Angeles include many women who hold important clerical positions in either other law firms, the court system, and even some in law enforcement support. When the girls all get together for social activities, the question Della answers the most outside of the normal professional inquiries is, "How can I get a date with Paul Drake?"

So many of the single girls just swoon over the presence of the dynamic private detective. Paul's good looks and overall charm make him an easy mark for clerical staff giving him their personal attention when he is out gathering information on the job. Della lost count of the number of women who have asked her to give Paul their phone numbers hoping that Paul would call for a date.

Paul Drake thrives on constant action in his life. He built his private detective agency from the ground up, beginning with only himself as the investigator, to adding on more operatives as he found success with his cases. A man _that_ dedicated to his job found minimal time for a more private social life as his job took him all over the place at all hours of the day and night. This was especially true when Perry offered him a hefty retainer for his services. As his detective agency grew and some of the jobs were assigned to his most trusted operatives, he found more time to relax, finding several young ladies to socialize with. Paul had always avoided marriage, though. Perry was really happy when Della finally gave up on playing matchmaker for Paul. The feedback from many of the women that she set him up with told her that going out on a date with Paul was like a carnival ride. Although they all said the dates were fun, those carnival rides were described by the ladies as roller coasters, tilt-a-whirls, and merry-go-rounds, but not very often the tunnel of love. Many blamed their disappointment on his job interfering with their date, not his overall desirability.

And now Paul Drake says that he was married in Mexico. From his hotel suite in Paris, Perry ended the phone conversation with Paul in Los Angeles with compassion and understanding. Both Perry and Della were slightly shaken by Paul's news of his purported marriage. Paul was obviously very unnerved by his situation, but Perry assured Paul that when he gets to Paris, he will help him work things out with the marriage situation.

Less than eighteen hours later, Paul arrived in Paris and Perry went to meet him at the airport. Paul was a little disheveled looking, mostly due to the long flight to Paris and his lack of sleep. He was standing on the sidewalk outside of the airport terminal arrivals doors smoking a cigarette when Perry walked up to him.

"Thanks for coming here, Paul. I'm sorry that I took you away from LA when you're feeling so despondent."

A somber Paul exhaled the cigarette smoke and looked down at the ground slowly shaking his head. "It was probably good for me to go away right now anyway. I thought a lot about this on the flight over here. It's better for me to be busy doing something else." He reached into his pocket and brought out the Bar Association identification card and the credit card that Perry requested. He handed them over to Perry. "Here's the stuff you wanted from your desk. The birth certificates are in my suitcase. So what kind of trouble are you in now?"

Perry put the cards away and reached down to grab one of Paul's suitcases. "Thanks, Paul. Let's get a taxi. I'll fill you in on the way back to the hotel. You look like you can use a nap. Or maybe a good stiff drink! I have a good bottle of brandy just waiting for you."

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When Della finished her brief art class early that afternoon, Perry met her at the school and they rode back to the hotel in a taxi.

Della had a lot of questions for Perry. "It was so hard to concentrate in class today. I don't have any classes for two days, so maybe I just need a break. How is Paul? Did he give you any hints about his alleged marriage in Mexico? Did you tell him about _our_ marriage plans?"

Perry shook his head and smiled. "You sure have a lot of things going on in your pretty little head..." He put his arm around her and kissed her cheek. "We didn't talk about his troubles at all. He just wanted to know why we asked him to come to Paris so I told him about that. He was really beat, so I just thought he should get some rest and we can all talk about it when he's ready. Considering that he has some sort of _marriage_ issue, I haven't told him about our wedding plans yet. He's using the extra room in our suite for right now. After a few hours of sleep in a nice bed, maybe he'll be ready to talk."

Della just smirked at Perry's reply. "If he's anything like you – and I know he is – he won't talk about it at all unless we pry it out of him. He'll want to get busy on the job right away."

Perry smiled and shook his head again. "I'm not like that. I don't keep things locked inside. I _always_ confide in you..." Then he paused to think about it. "Am I really that difficult to talk to?"

Leaning into him, Della chuckled. "You men are all alike sometimes... And yes – you have your moments!"

Perry and Della quietly made their way into the suite so they wouldn't wake Paul. Their hushed entry into the room was not necessary though. Paul was already awake, smoking a cigarette, and sitting in a chair talking on the phone.

They listened to the last part of his phone conversation. "That's right... Well you know where I'm staying right now, so call me right away when you know more... Yes! Thank you – uh, merci!"

Paul hung up the phone and turned around in his chair to look at them. "I've got two men working with me already. I thought we'd start by trying to locate the perps in your theft." He put out his cigarette in an ash tray.

Right away Della walked over to him and bent down to give him a hug and a peck on the cheek. "You just slow down, Paul. I'll bet that you haven't eaten anything lately. I'm going to call room service and order some lunch for you..."

"There's no time to eat right now, Beautiful. I have a few more men to call on right now." He reached into his coat pocket and pulled out his little black phone book. "I hope you don't mind that I'm using your phone and room number at this hotel for rounding up my contacts..."

"Don't be silly, Paul. Right now you're doing us a big favor, so of course this can be your headquarters. But you need to _eat_!" Della snatched the phone book out of his hand and handed him the room service menu. "Choose something to eat or I'll choose it for you!" She stood next to him with a hand on her hip.

Paul looked over to Perry in protest. Perry just shrugged. "I can't argue with her, Paul. She's the boss!" Paul obediently began reading the menu.

Within five minutes, Della hung up the phone and informed the men that their food would be brought up to the suite shortly. "Apparently french dip sandwiches are _not_ french cuisine. They'll put some roast beef on baguettes with au jus on the side for dipping." While waiting for their food order, the trio all quietly sat down in the living room area.

Della broke the silence while sitting next to Perry on the couch. "This elephant in the room needs to be dealt with, Paul... So out with it. What happened in Mexico?"

After lighting a cigarette, Paul slowly exhaled the smoke and looked down at the floor. "I'm almost too ashamed to talk about it..." He paused and took another drag on his cigarette while Perry and Della looked on. "It's like I told you on the phone. I think I got married, and now I need an annulment!"

Perry was concerned. "I'll help you in any way I can, but I'll need more information than that..."

Paul sat back in his chair and sighed. "To make a long story short, Barbara and I were having a great time in Mexico. One thing led to another and before I knew it, there was a government official in front of us and we were both saying 'Until death do us part'... I just don't know..." Paul leaned forward and rubbed his forehead with his large hands.

Perry glanced at Della who nodded back at him to say something consoling to Paul. Before speaking, Perry stood up and reached for the bottle of brandy on the table in front of him. "I know there's more to the story, but may I ask if you have any official documentation from this, uh, _ceremony_?" Perry poured Paul a glass of the brandy and offered it to him.

After taking a sip of the brandy, Paul continued. "There's an official marriage license all right! I found it on the nightstand in our hotel room the next morning. I couldn't read it very clearly at the time because my head was still pounding from a tequila hangover. But the certificate had my signature on it – a little scribbly, but it was my signature. When I could finally focus I looked around the room for Barbara. I figured that she just stepped out for some reason. Meanwhile, bits and pieces of the day before started coming back to me." He paused and sighed. "Then I found the note..." Paul reached into his shirt pocket and brought out a folded piece of paper and tossed it onto the table in front of Della.

She looked up to Perry and he nodded for her to read the note out loud. Della carefully unfolded the paper and began reading it. "Dear Paul. First let me say that I'll always love you. But I don't think I'm the right girl for you. By the time you wake up, I'll be gone. Perhaps some day I'll explain to you my reasons for leaving you. Right now my reasons are still unclear even to me, but I only know that I have to go. I hope that you understand. I'm sorry. Love, Barbara."

Della handed the note to Perry. He quickly glanced at it, then put it back on the table in front of Paul. "Have you tried to find her?"

Paul emptied his glass of brandy in one big gulp and took the brandy bottle to pour a little more in his glass. "Of course I searched for her. For two full days I looked for her in Mexico. I even paid a few of the local Federales on the side to help me track her down and we came up with zero. By the time I got back to LA to check her apartment, she had already moved everything out. The apartment manager told me that she left no forwarding address..."

Della reached over to Paul and lightly patted his arm with her hand. "I'm so sorry, Paul. Maybe things will work out after a little time. Obviously _something_ is upsetting her. You're a good detective – you'll find her and hopefully you'll be able to figure out why she ran away."

Paul continued to stare at the floor. "I've decided not to look for her. It works both ways here. She knows where I am when she wants to tell me what's wrong." He looked over to Perry. "To get a marriage annulled will she have to be located and served with the annulment papers?"

"You know that marriage laws are not my specialty – especially marriages in Mexico. But when I get back to LA, I'll find the answers for you." Perry offered Paul another shot of brandy.

Paul waved Perry off. "No more brandy right now. We've got work to do here in Paris. I need to make a few more phone calls if Della would kindly give me back my little black phone book."

Della picked up the phone book on the table in front of her and handed it back to Paul. She looked to Perry with an anxious look on her face.

Perry took the hint from Della. "Before you make your calls, Paul, there's something else you need to know."

Paul had pulled the phone over on the table in front of him and was paging through his phone book. He looked up at Perry who was now walking over to sit on the couch next to Della. "What? Do you mean that you didn't give me the whole story on the way to the hotel?"

Perry reached over and held Della's hand before he spoke. "You have the whole story about why we need you here, I just forgot to add another important tidbit about the papers in my missing briefcase..."

Paul interrupted. "No, you told me about the briefcase. It had your passports, birth certificates, and a work file for an estate tax situation..."

Perry grinned after he and Della quickly exchanged glances at each other. "The briefcase also contained our officially completed marriage license application... Della and I are going to get married here in Paris..."

The deadpan expression on Paul's face gave them no clue as to what his reaction would be. Then a sly grin appeared. "Well, it's about time! I can't wait to kiss the bride!"

They all laughed so loud that they almost didn't hear the knock at the door from the room service attendant delivering their food order.

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Captain Maximilian Lavigne's official duties in Paris primarily involved the protection of the President of France when needed, but also the protection of foreign dignitaries. Things were pretty slow going in his office with no important assignments scheduled for the time being. After Lavigne learned of the latest incident threatening Perry and Della - probably orchestrated by Inspector Henri LeMaire, Lavigne gathered his team together to give them their next mission.

Lavigne's team consisted of eighteen very experienced elite men and two trusted women who could be deployed in a police uniform or plain clothes at a moment's notice. The team had both regular marked police cars and inconspicuous unmarked vehicles at their disposal. All of the unmarked vehicles were equipped to be used covertly – for assignments such as surveillance with recording devices, or simply as vehicles used for escorting dignitaries in addition to also following suspects involved in criminal activities.

Lavigne split them into two teams, "A" and "B". The assignments were handed out and the "A" team members knew that their job would be providing clandestine round-the-clock protection for Perry and Della. The "B" team would begin a secret investigation into the antics of one of their own – Chief Inspector Henri LeMaire.

Part of the "B" team headed out on the assignment right away when they learned that Fulbert Gasiere slipped out of the hospital without the medical staff seeing him. Gasiere would need to be taken into protective custody and provide a sworn statement of his involvement with LeMaire. The rest of the "B" team went out to locate LeMaire so they could begin recording his daily activities on and off duty. They found out that LeMaire was due to report for work later that afternoon for his regular evening shift so they would look for him at his home and follow him from there. What the team didn't know right away was that LeMaire's erratic behavior was not going to be easy to predict. LeMaire did not always spend the night in his own apartment.

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LeMaire began his day just before noon waking up in a king-sized bed in the hotel room of his newest girlfriend, Katy Daley. The twenty-four year-old petit red-head arrived in Paris with a tour group from Boston Massachusetts just three weeks before. She met LeMaire the night that she was the victim of a purse-snatcher in the area of the Eiffel Tower. Miss Daley became quite infatuated with the handsome detective who kindly took a police report for her after her frightful ordeal. LeMaire vowed to help her recover her stolen purse which just happened to contain her passport and identification card. It wasn't long before LeMaire was able to seduce the naive young lady showering her with daily attention under the guise of helping her to recover her property.

Katy was sitting in a chair by the small balcony door and saw him moving around in the bed. She immediately walked over to the bed and gave him a kiss on his forehead. "Good morning, Henri. You were resting so peacefully, I let you sleep for a little longer than normal."

LeMaire angrily looked around for a clock right away. "What time is it? I have important things to do today before I go to work! You were supposed to wake me at ten-thirty!" He pushed her away from him and got out of the bed.

Katy was a little surprised at his anger. "I'm sorry, Henri... We were up so late last night, I just thought..."

LeMaire cut her off right away. "That's the problem! You _thought_! And you thought wrong! Like you always do!" He finished putting on his trousers and reached for his cigarettes on the night stand to light a smoke. His broken English with a strong French accent was stern. "Now I am running late! And now you will be late going to the bank! The money wired to you from your parents should be there this morning. I need that money from you to pay the thieves that stole your purse... Do you not want your passport back? Do you not want to get back to America soon?" He finished buttoning his shirt and tucked the shirt into his trousers.

"Of course I want my stuff back. And you promised to find it for me... I just don't understand why you cannot arrest these robbers and get my things back without having to pay one thousand francs to them..." Katy was pouting.

LeMaire finished putting on his watch and took a drag on his cigarette. He walked over to her and gently grasped her shoulders. His tone softened. "Oh, _mon_ _cherie_... I explained all about the system here in France. When these thieves take things, they do not really intend to keep them forever... They just hold them for a ransom and you must pay to get them back." He lightly kissed her forehead. "And one thousand francs is not a lot to pay. Your parents in America agree or they would not have sent you the money..."

Katy backed down and put her arms around him. "I suppose you are right. But I will miss you when I go back to Boston. I will be happy to get my things back so I can go home, but I wish we had more time to be together."

LeMaire broke away from her embrace. "But we _will_ be together again soon – when I come to Boston..."

"But you haven't told me when you will come to Boston..."

"I just need to wait for my holiday time, _mon_ _cherie._ In one month, I will tell you when I can go on holiday... And I will spend all twenty-five of my holiday days with you!"

Before LeMaire rushed out of her hotel room, he arranged to meet her in a cafe near his workplace that evening. She agreed to bring him the money so she could get her property returned. He kissed her goodbye and walked away from her to his car. As he got into his car he was muttering to himself. "Stupid American girl! Does she really think I will go to America on holiday to see _her_? She has only been good for sex and money! American girls are so naive!"

Lavigne's "B" team still had not located LeMaire that afternoon and they would never have thought to look for him at INTERPOL headquarters. Shortly before one o'clock, LeMaire drove into the parking lot of ' _Organisation_ _Internationale de Police_ _Criminelle_ ' hoping to find out more background information on Perry and Della. His mission at INTERPOL now was to plant false information about this American couple – he just had not decided yet if he was going to make them international smugglers of fine art, fine jewels, or both.

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After their late lunch in the hotel suite, the trio split up for the rest of the afternoon. Paul left to meet with some of the men he had recruited to help in his investigation. He wanted to look for the thieves right away and would need local assistance for that. When Paul left, Perry and Della discussed their plans for the day.

"I really need to see a hairstylist, Perry." Della fussed with her hair waiting for Perry's reply.

Perry walked over to her and ran his fingers through her soft curls. "Your hair looks just fine. But if you really want to go to a salon, we can do that..."

"What do you mean, ' _we_ '? I won't need you to tag along while I get my hair cut and styled..."

"I only say ' _we_ ' because I won't let you out of my sight while that jerk LeMaire is out and about. And until Captain Lavigne contacts me with more information on how he is planning to help us, I think it's best that we do not split up." Perry pulled her closer and kissed her tousled hair. "Where were you thinking of going?"

Della had not decided yet. "There's a small salon right here in the hotel. I could see if they can accommodate me this afternoon."

Perry had a better idea. "The concierge might know of a better place. A place that has the latest Paris hairstyles. Why don't we ask him for a recommendation? He can probably even get you an appointment for a full spa treatment."

Della thought it over and took a quick look at her fingernails. "Well, maybe I could use a manicure also..."

"Then let's go! I'll leave a message for Paul as to where we'll be once we find you a _salon de_ _beauté_!"

Just as Perry predicted, the hotel concierge found a nice salon for Della within walking distance of the hotel. As they walked into the place, Della was immediately greeted by the receptionist. Perry seated himself near the receptionist's desk when Della was brought into the salon to meet her beautician. Within five minutes, Della and the beautician emerged from the back room to inform Perry that his wait would be over two hours for the various services that they were offering Della.

Della made a suggestion to shoo Perry away. "I'll be fine here, Perry... Really... Why don't you find something else to do while I'm being pampered here? I promise that I'll wait here for you when I'm finished..."

Reluctantly, Perry finally agreed to meet her when she is finished and told Della that he was going to try and meet up with Paul. He checked at the hotel for any message from Paul, and finding no message, he called Vincent to see if Vincent could offer more cooking lessons.

"Hello, Perry! I was hoping you would call today! The school is closed, but I will meet you there! I think we should learn about desserts today. I'm suggesting desserts because I need to bring dessert to a dinner party I am going to tonight. And you, my friend, will make these desserts!"

Perry met Vincent at the school as they had agreed upon. Perry cautioned Vincent right away that he was not very good at making desserts. Vincent just shrugged him off. Walking up to the kitchen classroom, Vincent was all excited.

"Your situation with Della made me think about what I am missing in my life. So look at this..." He stopped outside of the classroom to show Perry a small jewelry box.

Perry took the box and carefully opened it. "Wow, Vincent! A ring! Who's the lucky lady?"

Vincent was beaming with pride. "It's for my girl, Monique. She's an accountant here at the school. After the dinner party tonight I will ask her to marry me... So when I show you the finer points of making good desserts, I will take two of them aside and save them for when I pop the question to Monique."

Perry just grinned and shook his head. "I hope she says yes in spite of any dessert I make!"

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While thinking his investigative strategy over, Paul had changed his mind about confronting the thieves responsible for taking Perry's things and wanted to try another approach. Around four-thirty that afternoon Paul and one of his Paris operatives stood outside of LeMaire's police station. It wasn't long before two policemen walked out of the building to begin working their beat. The operative tapped Paul on the shoulder and pointed to the two policemen. Paul crushed out his cigarette on the sidewalk with his shoe. He then handed the operative fifty francs, and began walking over towards the policemen.

Paul caught up to the officers and got their attention. "Excusez-moi... Officier Beauchamp? Officier Bautiste?"

The officers stopped and turned to face Paul. Beauchamp spoke first. "Oui. Je suis Beauchamp."

Paul was relieved that he found the right men. He brought out his private detective credentials to show the officers. "Merci! I was told that you speak English, Officer Beauchamp. I am Paul Drake, a private detective from America – uh, in Los Angeles. I am working on a case that you gentlemen were involved with recently..."

Beauchamp and Bautiste glanced at each other then looked Paul up and down. Beauchamp took a hold of Paul's credentials for a closer look. "What is it that you want from us, Monsieur Drake?"

Paul quickly explained that he was working for Perry Mason regarding the theft of their property while Beauchamp and Bautiste carefully listened to him. When Paul mentioned LeMaire's name, Beauchamp stopped him right away. "Monsieur Drake. I understand your need to look into the theft case for Monsieur Mason, but Inspector LeMaire is the man you need to speak with. He is now working the case and all questions need to be directed to him." The officers began to walk away as Beauchamp tipped his hat to Paul. "Adieu, Monsieur Drake."

"Please wait!" Paul begged them to stop. "You are the only ones who can help! LeMaire is unscrupulous and from what I hear, you officers are not like him at all. Work with me and I guarantee you that Mr. Mason will keep your good names out of any corruption charges LeMaire will eventually be facing..."

Beauchamp stopped suddenly and grabbed onto the front of Paul's suit coat with his strong hands. "Do _not ever_ mention our names with LeMaire's and corruption again!" He released his grip and pushed Paul away. "Now be on your way, Monsieur Drake. You do not want to make trouble with us!"

As they again began to walk away, Paul desperately wanted them to stop. "Please officers! Listen to me! How would you like to get rid of LeMaire once and for all? I have a plan!"

The officers stopped quickly and Beauchamp was about to grab on to Paul again, but Bautiste held him back. Bautiste quietly spoke to his partner. "Antonin. Écoutons son plan..."

Beauchamp relaxed and nodded back to Bautiste before he replied to Paul. "My partner thinks we should hear your plan..."

Paul really didn't have a good plan worked out yet, but at least he got them to stop. Bautiste seemed very interested in getting out from under the control of LeMaire. Paul looked around the area where they were standing. "It's not a good idea to tell you of my plan right here by your police station. Can we meet somewhere else later on? Maybe a cafe on your beat? I will bring along Mr. Mason for the meeting and he can explain what he needs from you."

The officers thought it over. "Okay, Monsieur Drake. We normally get a coffee break between seven and eight o'clock." Beauchamp took out his notebook and wrote down the name and address of a cafe for Paul. "Bring your Monsieur Mason to this place. We will listen to your plan at that time."

"Merci beaucoup! We will be there!" Paul put the note in his pocket and walked away. Now he needed to find Perry right away. He knew that only Perry would have the ability to convince these officers to work with them and take LeMaire down.

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Paul was anxiously awaiting Perry and Della's arrival back at the hotel when he saw them walk into the suite. Paul looked up and down at Della and whistled his approval at her new hairdo. While Della blushed and blew him a kiss, Paul walked over to her for a closer look. "Wow! Look at you! If you weren't already engaged to be married, I would..."

Perry cut him off mid-sentence. "Down, boy! May I remind you that you're already in a bind with _one_ marriage...? Now what was so urgent that we had to meet you back here right away?"

Paul explained right away. "Instead of looking for the idiots that stole your property, I decided to find the cops who brought you to the police station and set you up with LeMaire for the police report. We already know that LeMaire is dirty and probably has your property hidden somewhere, so maybe these cops know where LeMaire keeps this stuff. We can use them as an inside source. Now I just need you to come up with a plan as to how we can convince these cops to help..."

Perry thought it over. "Did you find the officers?" Paul nodded that he had. Perry paused and looked at Della. "You remember the names of those officers, don't you?"

Della nodded and replied right away. "Antonin Beauchamp and Serge Bautiste. Nice-looking young men..."

"Nice-looking or not, I just knew you'd remember their names..." He turned to Paul. "How can we meet with them and when?"

Paul brought out the address of the cafe and showed it to Perry. "They said that they can meet here between seven and eight on a coffee break..."

After quickly looking at his watch, Perry told Della and Paul that they would all go to meet the officers as planned.

Just before seven o'clock, the trio got seated in the cafe near the entry door. Perry ordered coffee and small French pastries to enjoy while they waited for the officers to arrive. When eight o'clock came around and the officers had not shown up, Paul was a little worried.

"I hope I didn't scare them off... If you two want to wait here, I can go out and try to find them..."

Perry advised Paul to just be patient. Before they could discuss their next move, Captain Lavigne walked into the cafe and spotted them right away. He walked over to their table and pulled another chair over to the table to sit with them.

Lavigne greeted Perry and Della and was introduced to Paul. Lavigne then told them the purpose of his visit. "If you are waiting for Officers Beauchamp and Bautiste to meet with you, I am here to tell you that they will not be coming..."

Perry exchanged confused glances with Paul and Della before he spoke. "It was to be a brief meeting to convince the officers that I need their help in exposing Inspector LeMaire for the swindler that he is. We meant no harm in contacting these officers."

"Please, Monsieur Mason... I know that you mean well and are desperate to locate your missing property. When you came to me, I told you I would help, so let me do my job..." Lavigne then clasped his hands together and leaned forward on the table. "I have recruited Beauchamp and Bautiste to assist me in gathering the evidence I need to deal with Inspector LeMaire... Now if you will come with me, we will go to LeMaire's office to recover your property while LeMaire is away from his office under surveillance."

Arriving at the police station, the group entered a side door and walked directly towards LeMaire's office. Beauchamp and Bautiste were waiting in a hallway. Captain Lavigne was confident that they would be able to check LeMaire's office without LeMaire knowing they were there. He directed Perry, Della, and Paul to wait in another office nearby.

While one man on Lavigne's team worked on opening the safe in LeMaire's closet, Beauchamp, Bautiste and Lavigne began looking in the file cabinets and desk drawers. Within moments, Beauchamp called Lavigne over to LeMaire's desk.

"Capitaine... C'est important."

Lavigne walked over to the desk where Beauchamp had found Della's photo from Perry's wallet on top of a stash of US currency.

Lavigne slowly shook his head. "Obtenez la camera. Prend une photo." It was Lavigne's plan to take photos of the evidence against LeMaire and leave the property in its place until a later time.

Beauchamp took a photo of the evidence with the camera, then wrote notes on what he found and where he found it. They all continued looking for other items of interest taking more photos and notes all over the office. Lavigne's plan was going well until the officer at the safe frantically called Lavigne over to the safe.

Hoping that the safe would contain substantial proof of LeMaire's misconduct, Lavigne rushed over to the safe. Beauchamp and Bautiste quickly joined them, looked into the safe, then clearly saw the disappointment on Lavigne's face.

Lavigne slapped his hand on the closet wall then ordered the men to quickly gather their things and get out of LeMaire's office. After closing the door to LeMaire's office, Lavigne walked down the hall to give Perry and Della his bad news.

 **TBC**

I appreciate your patience in having to wait so long for the posting of this chapter. Thank you for reading. As always, I appreciate your comments and reviews!


	8. Chapter 8

**Chapter Eight**

The constant chatter on the police walkie-talkies became less and less as officers from Captain Lavigne's team that were watching Inspector LeMaire saw him enter a small neighborhood bistro shortly before eight o'clock that night. Some of the surveillance team members shut down their portable police radios before they walked into the bistro to begin surreptitiously recording LeMaire inside the place. Equipped with cameras and small tape recorders, they were prepared to record any moves LeMaire would make in the bistro.

LeMaire walked right over to the table where Katy Daley was already seated. He sat down at her table and rudely snapped his fingers to get a waiter's attention. "Garçon, eau minérale!"

Katy was reading a dinner menu. "Hello, Henri! I was waiting for you before I order dinner. Are you only having mineral water?"

He was not the least bit interested in staying to eat dinner with her. LeMaire only wanted to get one thousand francs from her so he could return her stolen property to her. "I do not have time to eat dinner with you tonight. Did you bring the money with you?"

Katy put the menu down and reached for her purse. As the waiter delivered the mineral water, LeMaire quickly reached over to Katy's arm and stopped her from bringing the money out of her purse while the waiter was at the table. "Not so fast, _mon_ _cherie_!" He did not want any potential witnesses to the exchange of money for stolen property.

The mineral water was placed on the table and the waiter asked if he could bring them anything else. LeMaire rudely waved the waiter away and returned his attention to Katy. He leaned forward over the table and placed his hands over hers on the table. "Okay, now you may give me the money."

Katy brought up her purse again and took out an envelope. After opening the envelope, she slowly began counting out one thousand francs while LeMaire watched her closely. He suddenly grew very impatient and grabbed the envelope and cash already on the table.

"Let _me_ count this!"

Katy leaned forward and tried to take the envelope back but he slapped her hand away. She sat back in shock while LeMaire quickly counted out the money.

"Henri! That envelope has more than what I owe to get my things back. Please let me have the envelope back!"

LeMaire continued counting out the money and glared at her for interrupting his count. "I do not have much time. I will only take what is owed and you will get you passport back." He tapped the stack of bills on their edge and neatly folded them before tucking them away in his coat pocket.

Katy continued to sit back and watch him then asked where her things were. LeMaire reached into an inner pocket in his suit coat and brought out her passport and a photo ID. He handed them to her across the table.

She furrowed her brow. "Is that all that the thief returned? Where is the purse that was stolen? Where is my wallet and the other things that were in the purse?" She put the property in her purse along with the envelope with the rest of her cash.

LeMaire drank from his bottle of water then paused to respond. "That is all that the thief had by the time I caught him. You already have a new purse and can buy a new wallet when you get back to Boston. But without your passport and identification, you would be stuck here a lot longer..."

Katy was becoming more upset. "I still don't understand this way of recovering stolen property at all! You know who took it so why don't you arrest him? Why can't I meet this thief and ask him to return my old purse? I paid a lot of money for that purse! And there were sentimental things in that purse! Now all I get back is my passport and an ID card..."

LeMaire just listened and shook his head. "I told you before, that is just how things are here in Paris... Maybe some day soon I will find the rest of your things. Then I will bring them to you when I visit you in Boston." He reached across the table again and held her hands. "I need to leave right now, _mon_ _cherie_. Will you call me tomorrow before you leave for the airport? I will be at home. Perhaps I can quickly meet you before your airplane leaves?"

The worried look on her face slowly faded away. "Of course I will call you. Maybe we can try to have lunch?"

LeMaire stood up to leave. "That is a good idea. And I will buy the lunch... Au revoir, mon cherie." He lightly kissed her cheek and left in a hurry. He still had more money to collect from other _victims_ of crime in his police territory.

Two of Captain Lavigne's men followed LeMaire out of the bistro and two more remained inside to watch Katy.

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"All of the things that we thought would be in Inspector LeMaire's safe were not there. We had reliable information that he stores the stolen property in a safe in his office, but when we checked, the safe was empty." Captain Lavigne was breaking the bad news to Perry, Della, and Paul while Officers Beauchamp and Bautiste stood in the room with them.

Perry sadly shook his head. "We should have acted on that information sooner... Where do we go from here?"

Lavigne shrugged his shoulders. "We will continue to gather evidence of his illegal activities and hope that we get a break somewhere."

Paul interjected right away. "I want in on this investigation. There's got to be some way I can help you out..."

Lavigne shook his head. "I have enough help on this investigation. I need to handle this the right way. I know your intentions are good, but from a legal standpoint, I need this investigation to be by-the-book so Inspector LeMaire is held accountable..."

Perry tried to reason with Lavigne and lauded Paul's abilities as an investigator. "It won't hurt your investigation to add Paul to your team. He has very credible connections here that can work with you. With their help, you'll get the right information to keep you on track. Paul's work has always been by-the-book and the results of his investigative methods have never been challenged in a court of law..."

Lavigne thought it over. "Let me think about this." He looked at his watch. "We need to get out of this building before LeMaire comes back." He looked at Beauchamp and Bautiste. "I need to check on my other teams out there and you can give me a ride. Name a place on your beat where we can all meet again in an hour."

Beauchamp and Bautiste replied at the same time. "Axel's cafe." Beauchamp explained their choice further. "Axel gives us a private table in the back of his place – out of sight from the public so we can enjoy a meal on duty without interruption."

Lavigne looked to Perry. "Can you find Axel's and meet us there?"

Perry nodded and assured him they would be there.

They all left the building out a rear door. Perry, Della, and Paul walked out first and with directions from Beauchamp, they walked down a side street away from the police station. Beauchamp and Bautiste drove away in their police car with Lavigne so they could meet with the team watching LeMaire.

A block away from the police station Perry found a bar to wait in and have a drink. Paul told them his idea for how he can help Lavigne with the investigation after they ordered their drinks.

"It might be a crazy idea, but one thought I have is to arrange for one of my female operatives to become a victim. I can easily set something up with my contacts here. We'll make sure that _Chief_ Inspector LeMaire gets the case and the stolen things. Then we'll simply follow him to his stash. After that, Bingo – we have the evidence we need." Paul sat back and lit a cigarette waiting for Perry's thoughts on his idea.

"It's not a bad idea, Paul, but I think Captain Lavigne is already ahead of you on that. He's followed the information and the stash was moved. I think he's maybe willing to let you work with him. We'll have to wait and see when we meet up with him again... We can run your plan by him and see if he can add on to that so he keeps it legal."

Paul was positive his plan would work. "When he _sees_ the victim that I have in mind, he will like my plan... She's a real looker if you know what I mean."

An hour later the meeting at Axel's got underway after Lavigne joined the group already seated at the large table in the back. While Beauchamp and Bautiste ate their dinner, Lavigne listened to Paul's plan.

Lavigne paid close attention to Paul's plan and nodded. "Let me think about that for a minute... Maybe we can make something like that work." He turned to Beauchamp and Bautiste. "I could use you both on my team. I can work out the details of a transfer later. For the concept that Monsieur Drake has proposed, I will need your expertise. You know all of the notorious criminals on your beat that prey on tourists. Will you be willing to come to work for my unit?"

The officers anxiously nodded while swallowing their dinner.

"Okay. I will add Beauchamp and Bautiste to my team. And Monsieur Drake will work with them directly."

Paul was very pleased with Lavigne's directive, but Perry felt left out.

"How can I fit into this plan? After all, Della and I are the victims here..."

Lavigne agreed. "Yes, you are the victims, and you should continue to be the victims. For right now, it will be best that you go on like other victims – call LeMaire for updates on your case occasionally and go back to being a normal tourist. Just be careful not to let on that you know he has been trying to get you arrested."

Perry looked at Della then shook his head. "Ha! We've been doing the best that we can as tourists, but LeMaire has been making it pretty difficult for us to enjoy this wonderful city..."

"I do not think LeMaire will be able to harass you any further. While you are touring Paris, I will have a team of officers watching his every move on duty and off duty. He will not get another opportunity to disturb you while we follow him." Lavigne then changed the tone of the conversation. "You mentioned that you are going to be married while you are here. I think you need to focus on your wedding plans instead of fearing LeMaire."

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The morning light that found its way into Perry and Della's room beamed directly onto the pillow where Perry's head was still resting. Della was already awake and showered so she made her way back to the bed to wake him up.

"C'mon sleepy head..." She removed a flower from a vase on the nightstand next to the bed and began tickling his face with it.

With his eyes still closed, Perry began to stir and playfully swiped his hand at the flower as he stretched his large frame under the bedsheets. "Mmm... It can't be time to get up yet..." He rolled over onto his side and covered his head with a pillow.

Della put the flower back in the vase and tried another approach. As she pulled the bedsheets off of him, he tried to pull them back on. Perry knew what she was up to so he waited for an opportunity to pull her back into bed with him. He made his move when she tried to take the pillow off of his head.

She shrieked and giggled as Perry rolled her onto the bed beside him and began tickling her as she laid on her back.

"Perry! Now stop that!" Between giggles she protested. "You'll wrinkle my dress!"

He continued to hold her arms down as he began nibbling at her neck. "Let's not wrinkle your dress then. How about if I help you take it off?" He reached for the back of her dress to begin unzipping it. "I'll be as helpful undressing you again as I was last night when we got ready for bed..."

Della was still giggling and playfully tried to push him away. "Really, Perry... You need to stop that! Room service is coming up here any minute now with our coffee..."

Perry relaxed his hold on her. "I suppose you're right. We don't want to wake Paul either."

"Paul is already up and gone. I heard him leaving when I got up." Della sat up on the bed.

"If he's already gone, why are we getting up so early?" He looked at his watch on the nightstand and saw that it was only seven o'clock.

"Because we are supposed to continue acting like tourists, remember? Last night you promised to take me to the Louvre among other places..."

"The Louvre doesn't even open until at least nine o'clock... And since Paul is already gone, we have plenty of time for a quick..."

Della cut him off right away as he tried to pull her back down on the bed. "Oh no you don't! We're getting up and having a nice breakfast before we go to the Louvre."

He released his grasp on her when they heard the knock on the door. Della got off the bed to answer the door.

Perry called out a warning to her before she got to the door. "Make sure it's really room service before you unlock the door! You never know where LeMaire could be lurking..."

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Two team members from Captain Lavigne's "B" team were knocking on the door to Katy Daley's room by nine o'clock the morning after her meeting with Inspector LeMaire. She rushed to open the door hoping LeMaire would be there. She was a little surprised when she saw two official-looking men there asking to come in.

One man spoke to her in English. "Mademoiselle... We are from the Paris Police Department." They both displayed their credentials. "We are with the V.I.P. Protective Service. We need to speak with you about an important investigation..."

Katy opened the door wider to let them enter. "Please come in. Do you have the rest of my stolen property? I'm afraid I do not have any more money to pay you if you have the rest of my things..."

The officers guided her towards a chair in the room. "Please sit down. We'll make our visit with you as brief as possible because we understand that you are flying back to Boston later this afternoon..."

She sat down by the balcony door and apologized for the mess in her room. "Yes. I am packing my bags, that's why it looks so messy in here. I really hope that you've found more of my things..."

"I'm afraid we do not have any more of your stolen property. And we have some bad news for you..."

Katy was very concerned. "Bad news? What bad news?"

"You have been victimized by one of our own. A policeman has victimized you further. Inspector Henri LeMaire is the policeman we are investigating."

Katy just stared at them in disbelief. "No! It can't be! Henri has been _helping_ me, not _victimizing_ me!"

The officers began unloading photographs and other papers from a briefcase. The lead investigator continued. "Mademoiselle, here in France, the Police do not make victims pay for the return of their recovered stolen property. Inspector LeMaire has mislead you." The officers began displaying the photographs of her meeting with LeMaire from the night before. "In these photographs, we see that after you handed him some money, he handed you some property – a passport and an ID card. Is that correct?"

"That's correct... But Henri insisted that's the way things are handled here in Paris..." Now she was really confused.

"We would like you to give us a sworn statement about your interaction with Inspector LeMaire. What he did was wrong..."

Katy thought it over. "I can't do that. Henri was very good to me. And he's coming to Boston soon to visit me..."

The officers quickly exchanged sad glances at one another before they brought out more photographs.

"Unfortunately, you are not his only victim, Mademoiselle. When he left you in the cafe last night, he met with two other women – both were also victims of a purse-snatching incident that he investigated..."

As they laid out the photographs on the table in front of her, Katy began to cry. "No! This can't be! He said that he loves me!" She brushed the photographs off of the table with her hands. "I don't believe you! These pictures mean nothing to me! You're trying to trick me into paying more money!" She stood up to grab a handkerchief to wipe her eyes.

The officers knew that they would have to work harder to convince her that LeMaire was a crooked cop. The lead investigator brought out his small tape recorder. He got Katy to sit down again and he turned on the recorder to play a tape recording.

The voice was LeMaire's. "Oh, mon cherie! That is how it works here in Paris... When you come up with two thousand francs, the thief will return your jewelry. You will just give _me_ the money and I will convince this thief to return your jewelry for this price... And some day, mon cherie, I will visit you in New York... Maybe I will have recovered more of your stolen things by then..."

Katy blinked her moist eyes and stared blankly at the photographs that had been placed back on the table in front of her. She took in a deep breath and sighed. "Tell me more about what you want me to do..."

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Perry and Della opted for an introductory guided tour at the Louvre. It lasted nearly ninety minutes and when the tour concluded, they sat down in one of the many cafes inside to plan their next move.

Della was really pleased with the overview from the guided tour. "I knew this place was huge, but we might have to return again another day just to see even another small part of it." She paused and reached for Perry's hand across their table. "Thank you for bringing me to Paris. This has been a wonderful vacation even though we've had some strange things happen to us..."

Perry smiled back at her. "I knew you'd like it here. And I promise it will only get better before we have to go back to LA..."

A waiter took their order for ham and cheese baguettes with small salads on the side. They both chose a glass of red wine to go with their light lunch. When the waiter brought their wine, they smiled at each other and lifted their glasses to toast their trip to the Louvre.

Neither one of them noticed the couple walking directly to their table.

"I don't believe it! Della! Perry! What a small world!"

They both looked up right away and Della recognized her dear friend Marilyn and her husband Johnny.

Perry pushed back his chair and stood up right away to greet the couple. He shook Johnny's hand while Della stood to give Marilyn a hug.

"It _is_ a small world, Marilyn! What are you doing here in Paris?"

"That's a question I have for _you_!"

Perry invited them to sit down at their table so they could visit. When they were all seated, Marilyn continued. "It's a work trip for Johnny and a much-needed vacation for me! While Johnny is here working as a consultant for his engineering firm, I'm taking in some of the sights and relaxing – without the kids! I can't believe you're here."

"Well, our trip was sort of work-related, too. One of our clients is from Paris and we sort of escorted her back here to explain her legal situation to her parents."

Perry nodded and smiled at Della's explanation. "But that was just what I told Della to convince her to come here with me on _our_ much-needed vacation." He gazed lovingly back at Della. "Are you going to give them the good news or shall I?"

Della blushed and then replied to her friends. "Perry and I are going to be married here in Paris!"

Marilyn shrieked with delight and reached for Della to give her another gentle hug. "I'm so happy for you both! It's about time! When is the big day?"

Perry began explaining the marriage process in France. "We're hoping to be married on the 28th. There will actually be two ceremonies. We need a civil ceremony at City Hall first, then we'll have another ceremony in a chapel... How long will you be in Paris?"

Marilyn looked over to Johnny for his reply. "Well, my job will take us down to Lyon for about a week or so, then up to Dijon. We'll be back in Paris after that."

Perry and Della exchanged glances before Della made a request. "I think you should do your best to be back here in Paris for the wedding." She reached for Marilyn's hand. "I could really use a maid-of-honor!"

For nearly two hours the couples ate a leisurely lunch and sipped wine while they caught up on the latest news from each other. While Perry and Johnny swapped stories about their days in the Navy during World War II, Della and Marilyn reminisced about their move to Los Angeles from Chicago to look for clerical jobs with the Defense Department during the war. It was there that Marilyn met Johnny and eventually married him during the war. Della was always happy for Marilyn who returned to Chicago with Johnny after the war to raise a family as a happy homemaker.

After their lunch, Perry and Della continued to tour another section of the museum while Marilyn and Johnny left to return to their hotel. They promised to stay in touch while they were all in France – especially to be a part of the wedding ceremonies.

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For the next two days Paul stayed very busy with the Police investigation involving Inspector LeMaire and he occasionally found time to have a bite to eat or a drink with Perry and Della. He told them that the investigation was going slow and was very tedious, but he was confident that LeMaire would be taken down soon.

Della returned to her art classes after two days off, so Perry was able to meet with Vincent for a final time before he and Della were going to leave Paris to celebrate Della's birthday. Perry was excited to finally graduate from his abbreviated cooking classes. He was now familiar with cooking everything from scrumptious breakfast dishes, to hearty lunches, through special dinners complete with fancy desserts. Vincent was anxious to find out what Perry was planning to fix for Della for her upcoming birthday dinner.

"You have perfected the basics to good cooking. And I was not completely responsible for teaching you the basics. You already had good cooking skills. Now you are truly a gourmet chef! What will you prepare for Della on her big day?"

Perry thought about it. "I'm not sure yet. I will first have to see the kitchen in the chateaux I have rented in Bordeaux. Once I know that the kitchen has the right utensils for the job, I will decide on the menu. Or maybe you would care to suggest something?"

Vincent laughed. "No, Perry. I will leave that to you and the appetite of your sweetheart. Even if the kitchen in your chateaux has only one pot and one frying pan, I think you will make a magnificent feast." Vincent ushered Perry out of the kitchen classroom to his office. "And now, if you will come into my office, I have a graduation gift for you..."

Perry followed Vincent back into the office and stood by his desk as Vincent brought out a small box. He handed the box to Perry.

Perry laughed as he opened the box and removed a large white chef's hat. He held it up and noticed his name embroidered on the front.

"Put it on, _Chef de cuisine_ Mason! _Félicitations_ , my friend! Now this pleated toque makes you official!"

"Thank you, Vincent. I will wear it proudly in my kitchen... And I hope Della will refrain from laughing uncontrollably when she sees me wearing it!"

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The next morning Perry stood near the door to their hotel suite anxiously waiting for Della to finish packing for their trip to Bordeaux.

"Are you ready yet? The concierge called and said that our rental car is ready..."

Della was still in the bedroom and answered him right away. "I'll just be a minute, Perry. I had to repack one bag..."

Now Perry walked back to the bedroom to check on her. "What do you mean ' _repack one_ _bag_ '? How many bags do you need for two nights and three days away? At the rate we're going, we'll barely make it there to enjoy part of this day... We have a six-hour drive ahead of us. And that doesn't count the time we'll be spending at the gallery that you want to stop at along the way in Versailles..."

"We don't need to stop in Versailles if you don't want to." Della continued to remove clothing from the closet and fold it into her suitcase. "We could always stop there on the way back. I'd just really like to see the place because one of my art school instructors highly recommends the place. And while touring the Louvre you mentioned that you would like to find something special to take back to LA as an investment..."

Perry leaned against the doorway grinning and watched her pack two large suitcases and a cosmetics bag. He shook his head and walked into the room to help her. "There's enough clothing in your bags for two weeks in Bordeaux... Let me help you..."

Della stood back and watched as he removed everything from one bag and handed it to her to put back in the closet. "Start by putting these things away. These are nice dresses, but can we cut this down to one bag somehow? Do you really need four dresses?" He pulled out a pile of neatly folded blouses. "And how many of these do you really need? Three days, three blouses – there are five in this bag alone."

Amused at his rationale for switching around her clothing, Della stood with her arms folded across her chest to watch as he got down to the bottom of the suitcase where he removed a nice silk negligee and held it up. She had to comment on that. "If it were up to you, that's the only article of clothing you would allow me to pack..."

Perry stopped unloading the bag. "Hmm. That's really not a bad idea..." He looked at the pile of clothing that he removed from the suitcase and laid out on the bed waiting for her to put it back in the closet. When he saw the look on her face and her raised eyebrow, he reversed his thinking. "Oh, alright! Bring two bags if you really think you need them... But let's get going!" He began neatly repacking the bag.

Down at the concierge desk, Perry was handed the keys to the rental car. The concierge carefully explained the route Perry would need to take to get to Versailles and the art gallery where they would stop. On another roadmap, he showed the route on to Bordeaux from Versailles with Perry's rented chateaux clearly marked as their final destination.

While they walked through the hotel lobby, Della noticed Paul walking into the hotel. "Good morning, Paul... Were you out all night again?"

Paul stopped to greet them. "Morning, Beautiful... Hiya Perry. Are you two finally off to Bordeaux?"

"As soon as the entire bellhop staff loads Della's entire wardrobe into our car, we'll be on the road..." Perry's grin faded when Della poked him in the ribs. "Are you making any progress in the investigation?"

"I think we're doing okay. It's still slow-going, but Captain Lavigne knows what he's doing. I hope we'll have some things wrapped up by the time you get back. My female operative will be acting as bait later tonight so things could pick up real soon!" Paul straightened out his crumpled suit coat. "And now if you'll excuse me, I need a quick nap, a shower, and a shave – in that order. Adieu, friends!" Paul turned to walk away and noticed the open elevator door and other hotel guests boarding. He ran towards the elevator shouting for them to wait for him. "Attendez! Sil vous plait!"

Perry and Della both shook their heads and grinned as they watched Paul get on the elevator and wave back to them. Perry commented that Paul's French was getting better. Della commented that she thought he was looking forward to working closely with his female operative. Perry chuckled and handed Della the road maps before they got in the car to begin their journey.

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The roadmap to the art gallery in Versailles was very well marked and Perry found the place easily. Once inside, they met the art gallery curator.

"Bonjour! Bienvenue, Monsieur Mason et Miss Street!" He shook Perry's hand, then bowed his head to Della. "I am Maurice, your tour guide. They tell me at your academy, Miss Street, that you are a very fine art student."

Della blushed. "I'm flattered. There is so much to learn in so little time, but I am enjoying every minute of it!"

"So which artist do you favor the most? We have several paintings and sculptures here for you to view. And if you find something that you like, we have very reasonable prices if you want to purchase something..."

Della looked to Perry. "Mr. Mason has a better eye and a bigger pocketbook for fine art than I do. I have been studying Picasso and Matisse recently. They are two of my favorites. Perhaps you can show us around."

They strolled around the gallery and Perry closely watched Della for any favorable reaction she had for any of the paintings. When she was shown " _Maisons a Kervilahouen Belle-_ _Ile_ " by Henri Matisse, the smile on her face was all that he needed to see to know that she adored that work of art.

Although Della mildly protested Perry's purchase of the painting, Perry convinced her that it was a good investment as he phoned his bank back in Los Angeles to wire the money to the gallery. After the purchase was complete, the painting was carefully wrapped for Perry and Della to transport it back to Paris. Maurice told them that Della's art academy had the best overseas shipping arrangement to safely and securely get the artwork back to Los Angeles.

After the painting was loaded into the car, Perry studied the roadmap again for continuing their journey to Bordeaux. Driving along a side street to get to the main route, Perry began discussing their purchase at the gallery.

"There's only one thing that I don't like about the painting."

Della was concerned right away. She tried to guess his concern. "It was the price you paid, right?"

"Not at all. Even my banker says it's a good investment... I just don't like the artist's first name!"

Della giggled. "Of course – _Henri_! Well, Henri Matisse has been around longer than Henri LeMaire – and Matisse used his artistic talents to make the world a better place. So don't let the name bother you..." She looked down at the map on her lap. "We're going to make a right turn up here in about a block and then we'll be on the main route."

Perry slowed down as they watched for the signs to the main route. Then he heard a police siren behind him. Looking in his rearview mirror, he saw the police car right behind him so he pulled to the side of the road and told Della that the cop might be stopping their car.

Della turned to look back at the police car and saw the officer walking up to their car. The officer approached carefully and gave loud verbal commands to Perry from the rear of their car.

"Éteignez le moteur!"

Perry turned the car engine off. The police officer remained behind their car and shouted again.

"Gardez les mains sur le volant!"

Perry put his hands on the steering wheel and quietly spoke to Della. "I wonder what I've done. This officer is acting like we're notorious outlaws! I wonder why he won't come closer to our car."

A moment later, several more police cars arrived at the scene and with their firearms pointed at Perry and Della, the officers took them out of their car.

Perry tried to tell the officers that he is an American tourist and wanted to speak with any officer that speaks English. As an officer put handcuffs on Perry's wrists, he told Perry in broken English that a translator would be at the scene in a moment. Perry watched as Della was escorted to the back of one of the police cars.

"Don't say anything to them Della! I'll be able to straighten this out when an English-speaking officer gets here!"

From the back seat of a police car, Perry watched as the officers searched through the rental car. He cringed as he watched them carelessly remove the Matisse painting from the back seat. He grew more anxious as they opened the trunk and began searching through their luggage. There was a little more commotion amongst the officers when three of them gathered near the trunk and brought out a jewelry case. Perry grimaced as they opened the case and brought out the diamond necklace that he intended to give to Della for her birthday.

A police detective opened the rear door to the police car that Perry was sitting in. He spoke to him in English.

"You are under arrest, Mr. Perry Mason. We are acting on information from INTERPOL that you are attempting to smuggle art and jewelry out of our country. We will be taking you to our police headquarters shortly."

Before Perry could reply to the detective, the car door was closed and the detective walked over to Perry's car to talk to the other officers.

 **TBC**

Thank you for reading. As always, I really appreciate all of your comments.


	9. Chapter 9

**Chapter Nine**

Captain Lavigne's team that was assigned to explore more into Inspector Henri LeMaire's background secretly began looking into LeMaire's bank account. When they discovered that he had several accounts at various branch offices of _La_ _Banque_ _Postale_ , they knew they were onto something big. The account balances were quite excessive even for a higher than average salary of someone of his police rank. Exploiting crime victims was very profitable for the Police Inspector when the team found that he even had a bank account in Switzerland. Following the trail of money, the team also discovered not only a lot of cash in several foreign currencies, but many revealing documents in safe deposit boxes in four of the banks. With their new Xerox copier, they made copies of the documents and returned the originals to the safe deposit boxes. Their plan was to come back to recover all of these documents and cash as evidence once they make their move on him.

In the back room of Captain Lavigne's office, Paul Drake was working with the investigative team sorting through documents that were recovered from LeMaire's safe deposit boxes. Many of the documents were written in French so Paul was having a difficult time evaluating the worthiness of the document to the investigation. He didn't mind helping, though, because he was able to spend more time with the team – especially the attractive, efficient women from their clerical support staff. Eventually he came across copies of some postcards written in English addressed to someone named _Michele_. They were all affectionately signed by someone named _Robert_. He was curious as to why LeMaire would have copies of postcards addressed to someone else tucked away in a safe deposit box. He looked through the pile of documents for more and began reading them.

Beauchamp and Bautiste came into the room and announced that they would be ready for Paul's female operative to play the role of a purse-snatching victim later that evening. Paul called them over to the table where he was working.

"Will Captain Lavigne be with us for the purse-snatch detail? I thought he would be here right now to look through these papers with us..."

"He will be here. It is my understanding that an hour ago he was suddenly called away for something else." Beauchamp looked over the pile of papers that Paul was reading. "Are you finding anything of value in those papers?"

Paul chuckled. "Most of these papers are written in French – and you know how much French I can read and speak! I'm working on these postcards that I _can_ read – they are written in English."

Beauchamp looked closer at the postcards. "This is interesting... The postcards are addressed to Michele. Many years ago LeMaire was engaged to a woman named Michele. She left him on what was to be their wedding day." He motioned for Bautiste to join them at the table. "Do you remember the story of LeMaire and his fiancée?"

Bautiste shrugged his shoulders. "I only recall that on the day of the wedding, she ran off with a wealthy American tourist."

Paul sat back in his chair and calmly lit a cigarette. "Tell me more about this, gentlemen..."

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The pain in Perry's shoulders was excruciating as he sat in the back of the police car with his hands cuffed behind his back. He tried adjusting his burly frame in the cramped space of the back seat, but it was of no use. The pressure of the handcuffs dug into his wrists causing his fingertips to go numb. Turning his head to the side, he had to strain his neck to occasionally catch a glimpse of Della who was seated in the back of another police car nearby. The four uniformed police officers and a detective in a business suit at the scene huddled around the rental car for over thirty minutes – not one of them checking on Perry or Della during that time. Perry somehow managed to control his anger at the situation knowing this incident was more than likely perpetrated by LeMaire.

Ten minutes later, the sound of a police car siren and car doors slamming shut behind him got Perry's attention. He twisted his upper body around to see what the commotion was about. He breathed a big sigh of relief when he saw Captain Lavigne and two other police officers rushing up to the officers standing at the rear of the rental car.

Perry could see Lavigne speaking to the detective who pointed back to the police car where Perry was detained. Lavigne and the detective immediately began walking towards Perry – their conversation in French becoming easier to hear the closer they got to the police car.

"Je sais que vos actions étaient justifiées, mais les informations INTERPOL était faux..." Lavigne opened the police car door to get Perry out. "Come on out, Perry. I just explained to these officers that their actions to detain you were justified, but the information from INTERPOL was false."

Perry slowly emerged from the police car back seat and the apologetic detective began removing the handcuffs. He noticed that the handcuffs left large welts on Perry's wrists. "I am sorry about the tight handcuffs, Monsieur Mason. Handcuffs are not made to be comfortable..."

Upon his release from the handcuffs, Perry rubbed his wrists and stretched his back, but he was more concerned about Della's well-being. He took a deep breath to control his anger and calmly spoke to them. "If I'm free to go, I want to check on Della if you two don't mind." He brushed by them to walk over to the police car where Della was still seated in the back.

Lavigne and the detective did their best to keep up with Perry whose long strides brought him to Della in just seconds. The detective got around Perry at the last second to open the car door and let Della out. As she emerged from the vehicle, Perry pulled her into an embrace right away.

As she immediately buried her head in his chest, he bent his head down to speak softly in her ear – his cheek nestled into her hair. "Are you okay?" He was grateful that she was not in handcuffs, but he released his embrace to hold her hands and look her over head to toe.

"I'm fine... I'm just fine, Perry... Are you okay?" She leaned back to look up into his big blue eyes.

Perry sadly looked back into her eyes. "I'll be okay – when we get out of here..." He sharply turned back to Lavigne. "Are we free to go? Only Inspector LeMaire could have set up something like this!" He added sarcastically, "As you suggested earlier, we want to continue our _tour_ of France now – like other _tourists_!" He was still filled with indignation for being detained in this manner, but wanted to leave for Bordeaux right away.

Lavigne tried to console him. "Please, Perry. This was something LeMaire arranged before we set up constant observation of him. These officers just acted on the information that LeMaire planted at INTERPOL. When these officers crossed your path leaving the art gallery, one thing just lead to another..."

It was not easy to appease Perry. He began to massage his wrists. "I don't want to hear anymore. I'm asking again - are we free to go? I'm sore and I'm tired..." He gently pulled Della to his side and held his arm out for her to hold so they could walk away.

"Yes, you are free to go. I completely understand your frustration." Lavigne tried to console Perry some more. "Let me make it up to you, Perry. I can help you quickly get to your destination..."

"We don't want your _help_. Good day, gentlemen." Perry began to walk away with Della.

Lavigne didn't give up. He motioned to one of his men as he quickly walked to catch up to Perry. "Please hear me out, Perry... I can give you a police escort all the way to Bordeaux..."

Perry showed no signs of slowing down walking to his rental car where their belongings were still scattered on the ground outside of the vehicle. Della gently squeezed his arm in an effort to get him to stop.

"Perry, let's listen to what Captain Lavigne can do for us." Della looked back at Lavigne and nodded to him.

Hearing Della's plea, Perry's demeanor changed right away as he stopped next to the rental car to turn and face Lavigne. The officer summoned by Lavigne joined them at the rental car awaiting instructions.

"This is Officer Kurbine. He is fluent in French and English. His expertise on my team is evasive driving for dignitary protection. If you will allow him to drive your car, I will have a police car escort you and Officer Kurbine all the way to Bordeaux. This police escort will get you there in half of the normal driving time... We can have you in Bordeaux in less than three hours..."

Della gave Perry a pleading look. His temper softened further as Della nodded to him hoping that he would accept Lavigne's offer.

Lavigne saw that with Della's calming effect on Perry, she was beginning to change Perry's attitude. "My team escorts important people all the time. You deserve dignitary treatment after what you've been through lately. Please let us do this for you..."

For Della's sake, Perry accepted Lavigne's offer and they began to carefully load their belongings back into the rental car. When the trunk lid was closed, Officer Kurbine opened the rear car door for Della and Perry to get in. Before they drove away, Perry rolled down the rear window to speak with Lavigne.

"Thank you, Captain Lavigne." He extended his hand out the window to shake Lavigne's hand.

"It's the least I could do for you." Lavigne shook his hand. "Have a nice visit to Bordeaux. Call me when you return to Paris. And for the record, the drive to Bordeaux is not very scenic anyway, so we're doing you a big favor getting you there quickly..."

Officer Kurbine and the escorting police car immediately drove off towards Bordeaux.

Lavigne stood with the detective at the scene and watched the vehicles leave. "Under my authority, here is what I need you and your officers to do now..."

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Hours ahead of the start of his regular duty shift, Inspector LeMaire was in his office at his desk. He leaned back in his chair with his feet up on his desk anxiously awaiting a phone call from INTERPOL. He was sure that any moment INTERPOL personnel would be calling him to inform him that the American tourist, Perry Mason, and his accomplice Della Street were taken into custody, suspected of smuggling fine art. After lighting a cigarette and glancing at his watch, his patience was wearing thin so he got on his phone and dialed the number for his contact at INTERPOL.

While his call was being transferred to the operations section at INTERPOL, LeMaire opened his desk drawer and brought out the photograph of the lovely Della Street that he had taken from Perry's wallet. He still wanted to get to know her better, but first he would need to get her away from her fiancée. His fantasy was interrupted when his call was connected.

After a short conversation with his contact at INTERPOL, LeMaire was disappointed to hear that Perry and Della had not been arrested yet. He thought for sure that the way he had written his arrest and detention order, the pair would be picked up immediately. LeMaire hung up the phone and crushed out his cigarette in his ash tray. If they were not in custody yet, he wondered where they could be. He decided to make a visit to their hotel to find out.

After bullying his way to the front of the line of people waiting to check in to the hotel, LeMaire drew the attention of the hotel manager who guided him off to the side to find out what he wanted. LeMaire showed the manager his police credentials and told him that he needed information on Perry and Della – in particular if they had checked out or if they were signed up for any tourist excursions arranged by the hotel. The names were familiar to the manager and he stepped back from the counter to pull the registration card for Perry and Della. The notation at the bottom of the registration card alerted the manager to Perry and Della's situation. He informed LeMaire that Perry and Della were out of the hotel for the day touring Paris on their own. LeMaire checked the time on his watch and left the hotel to go out and search for the couple on his own. He was hoping to get them arrested sometime during his work shift so he could begin working on breaking up the couple.

The hotel manager immediately phoned Captain Lavigne's office to leave a message informing him of LeMaire's visit to the hotel.

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The police escort for Perry and Della drove into the driveway of the château on the outskirts of Bordeaux shortly before three in the afternoon. Officer Kurbine was a good driver and could also point out interesting sites along the route. Having grown up in Bordeaux, Kurbine also shared a lot of information about places to visit while in Bordeaux, and more importantly for Della, a nice place to have a bite to eat.

Looking around the area as they got out of the car, they found that the château was located in the middle of a large vineyard. Kurbine was able to give them a brief history of this particular place. The officers helped Perry unload the rental car and then they announced that they would be on their way back to Paris. Perry offered the officers a rather sizable gratuity for their efforts.

"Won't you please take this as our thanks for bringing us here so quickly and safely?"

Kurbine politely declined. "No thank you, Monsieur Mason. We cannot accept any rewards for just doing our jobs. Have a wonderful stay in Bordeaux. Perhaps I will see you again back in Paris."

The officers drove off and Perry and Della entered the house. Carrying only her purse and a cosmetic bag, Della walked in to the wide open entryway and was in awe of the décor and size of the place.

"Oh my gosh, Perry! This place is beautiful. Do we have this place all to ourselves?"

Perry brought the rest of their luggage into the entryway and looked around. "It's all ours... Why don't we leave the bags here and take a look around?"

They strolled through a vast sitting room, a kitchen complete with fancy cooking utensils, and found a fully stocked wet bar in the dining room. Their tour continued to the back of the home where they found two bathrooms, and three bedrooms. The large master bedroom had its own bathroom and a large sunken bathtub in front of a huge picture window overlooking part of the vineyard.

"Oooh! I'm really going to enjoy taking a nice long, hot bath in that!" Della walked over to the tub and ran her hands along the edge of the tub while she looked at the temperature controls by the faucet. "This probably works like a whirlpool tub – or a jacuzzi."

Perry joined her by the tub and put an arm around her. "We'll have to make sure that you get an opportunity to enjoy it later... Now how about getting our things unpacked so we can try out that nice restaurant that Officer Kurbine recommended?"

"That's the best thing I've heard all day. I'm starving! We can unpack later! Let's go!"

 _Le Bistro de Vin_ was a small, charming place within three miles of their château. Upon entering the place, Perry did as he was told by Officer Kurbine and informed the host that he was sent by Kurbine.

"Magnifique, Monsieur! J'ai la meilleure table pour vous!" They were taken to the best table in the place.

Seated near an impressive fireplace with a view of the extensive kitchen, Perry and Della were treated to an amazing array of local delicacies. While enjoying shrimp cocktail and moving on to _soup aux_ _moules_ _,_ they stayed with the seafood theme settling for small portions of cod with a white wine sauce. Before being served their dessert cannelés, they learned that Le Bistro de Vin was owned and operated by Officer Kurbine's uncle. After completing their late lunch by sharing Calvados brandies with the owner, they drove back to the château to get settled in to their accommodations for the next two nights.

After unpacking their bags, Della persuaded Perry to join her for a walk through the vineyard.

"It's so nice outside. Let's take a walk around the grounds. I could use some exercise to wear off that wonderful lunch..."

After looking outside and seeing cloudy skies, Perry helped her to put on a sweater over her dress. "Whatever you want to do. After all, this trip to Bordeaux is just another part of your birthday gift..."

Della stood up on her tiptoes to give Perry a quick peck on the cheek. "As always, you spoil me!"

Walking along the trails used by maintenance vehicles, they took in the beauty of the daffodils and tulips lining the trails. The leaves of the grape vines were just beginning to unfold. They strolled along slowly holding hands, trying to figure out which type of wine would be produced by the vines.

Within the hour, a clap of thunder in the distance ended their hike through the vineyard and they barely made it back to the château before the rain came pouring down. A slight chill in the air gave Della the desire to try out the sunken bathtub in the master bedroom. Perry left her at the bedroom door telling her that he would find some wine and prepare a small snack to bring to her during her bath.

When Perry walked into the master bedroom, he stopped by the door to take in the view of Della soaking in the tub covered in soap bubbles. Scented candles were lit up and placed on the window sill as rain continued to fall outside.

"Now that's a sight for sore eyes!" He walked into the room balancing two wine glasses and a bottle of red wine in one hand with a cheese and baguette plate in the other hand.

"What's a sight for sore eyes? The rain on the big picture window spoiling the view of the vineyard?"

Perry just grinned. "No, the sight of you all covered in soap bubbles."

She smiled up at him and reached her hand out to him from beneath the bubbles. "Come on in. The water's fine..."

Perry set the wine glasses and cheese plate on a small table by the edge of the tub. "I'm almost tempted... But I don't want to smell like your perfumed bubble bath all night." He sat on the edge of the tub and began pouring the wine.

"Oh don't be silly. This is just ordinary unscented bath soap." She pointed to the edge of the tub by her feet. "I brought a bath robe and towels for you, too... Now are you going to join me or do I need to get up and pull you in here with all of your clothes on?"

Perry could not ignore the romantic atmosphere and did not waste any time getting undressed to climb into the tub with her. Della convinced him to just sit in front of her and lay back into her arms so she could massage his sore neck and back muscles. She gently rubbed his neck with a sponge, squeezing the warm water from the sponge to cascade off of his aching shoulders.

"Mmm. That feels good. Sitting in that police car in handcuffs was not pleasant at all..." Perry reached for his wine to take a sip. "I hope I see that jerk LeMaire handcuffed and stuffed in a police car soon!"

Della hushed him. "Shh. Let's not ruin this relaxing bath thinking about LeMaire... We have two more days away from him and his shenanigans."

Perry reached for her free hand to bring it to his lips and kiss it. "You're right, as usual... We're here to celebrate your birthday – and this is a nice start..." He handed her a glass of wine. "Drink up. I have plans for us when we're through soaking in this tub..."

Della took a big sip of her wine then placed the glass back on the edge of the tub. "I think I can guess what your plans are for later..." She smoothly moved the sponge down along his shoulders to his elbows then moved her hands underneath his arms to rest them on his chest.

It was over an hour before their skin showed signs of wrinkling from the long time in the warm water. Perry got out of the tub first, toweled off his wet skin, and put on his bathrobe. He assisted Della out of the tub and gently dried her with a towel before he helped her put her bathrobe on. From there he cradled her in his arms and carried her to the bed as the glow from the candles was the only illumination for the room.

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Captain Lavigne's decoy theft detail was put into action that evening when they saw that LeMaire was on duty at the police station. Paul's female operative casually strolled through the tourist areas carelessly holding her purse hoping to lure purse-snatching thieves into action. To ensure that the decoy was going to be safe from harm, Lavigne's team of police officers provided close proximity support.

The police radios came to life when Beauchamp and Bautiste spotted Zacharie and his team of thieves loitering in the area.

"I think Zacharie has an eye on our bait." Beauchamp was watching with binoculars from a van parked nearby. "He has one other man with him – it looks like Gaston, and Colette is trailing them closely. Be ready to follow them when they grab the purse."

Lavigne was with Paul observing the detail from another vehicle in the vicinity and gave instructions over the radio. "You all know your assignments. We just follow Zacharie after they get the purse. Then we'll get the beat cops to bring our decoy victim to the police station. The rest of the team will watch for LeMaire the rest of the night..."

But not every well-planned police operation goes as it was intended. Lavigne's police teams watched for over three hours and nobody accosted the decoy. When a rainstorm moved in, the would-be thieves cleared the streets and the operation was ended. The police teams regrouped in Lavigne's office.

Paul got comfortable and sat on the top of a desk as the officers gathered around in the office. "What will we do now? Do you think Zacharie's group was spooked by something? Our decoy did a good job..."

Lavigne thought it over. "I don't think Zacharie and his friends were suspicious of anything." He looked over to Beauchamp. "You know them well enough. Are there nights that they don't make a move?"

"They might be suspicious of something. Within their group they have lookouts for knowing where the beat cops are. Perhaps they are being a little cautious because of the new cops on the beat that are covering our assignment while we are working with you."

Paul lit a cigarette and hopped off of the desk top. "Let's not give up. I have a plan for tomorrow night if LeMaire will be on duty again. I know this plan will work and even the weather won't chase these thieves away..."

Before they could listen to Paul's plan, Lavigne interrupted him to answer his phone.

"Bonjour, ceci est Capitaine Lavigne... Oui? Oh? Damn! Je comprends... Tiens-moi au courant." He calmly hung up the phone and spoke to the group in his office.

"It was reported by our other team members that Fulbert Gassiere is back in Paris and was in the area of our decoy operation. Apparently he did not enjoy it when we paid him to relocate to Calais. He may have recognized some of our operatives or officers on site tonight. Right now they are following him towards Inspector LeMaire's office. There is a possibility that he may tip off our operation to LeMaire. That could be very harmful to our strategy."

Lavigne quickly came up with a plan to stop Gassiere. "Beauchamp and Bautiste! Go immediately to LeMaire's office and get him out of his office right away. Make up any excuse that you can. We cannot let Gassiere speak with LeMaire. If you go quickly, I think you can get there before Gassiere. I will have our team continue to watch Gassiere."

Beauchamp and Bautiste left the office right away. Lavigne got on his secure police radio channel to give instructions to his team. When he finished his directive to the officers on the detail speaking in French, he translated his commands for Paul to understand.

"I merely told the officers to do their best to stall Gassiere on his way to LeMaire's office if that is where he is going. Meanwhile, we will have to hope that Beauchamp and Bautiste get there in time to get LeMaire out of the office." Lavigne calmly sat back in his desk chair. "Now what is your plan for tomorrow night, Paul?"

 **TBC**

Thanks for reading. I'm grateful that you take the time to post reviews, and I'm glad that you are still following the story. There is more to come soon!


	10. Chapter 10

**Chapter Ten**

Without disturbing the sleeping beauty at his side, Perry managed slip out of bed as the sun was coming up over their château near Bordeaux. He quietly put on some clothes and collected the damp bath towels and bathrobes that they had discarded on the floor the night before. Perry left her bathrobe at the foot of the bed and took his bathrobe with the towels along with him to the bathroom. He hung up the damp towels and washed up a bit to get ready for his first birthday surprise of the day for his girl. After a quick glance at Della to make sure she was still sleeping, he walked out of the bedroom heading to the kitchen.

Perry silently assembled ingredients in the kitchen for the birthday breakfast he wanted to prepare for Della. With occasional glances at the kitchen clock to make sure he would have the feast prepared before Della would awaken, he put one of the items in the oven before he finished putting together the accompaniments to the main course. While coffee brewed in a percolator, he stacked some fresh croissants on a plate and placed them on the dining room table. After the place settings were put out on the table, he quickly rechecked his work to make sure he did not forget anything. He noticed that he was missing a flower for the table centerpiece. Searching through a china cabinet in the dining room, he found a small bud vase. He removed a single rose from a bouquet in the sitting room and placed it in the vase with a little water. The table was set.

Quietly walking back into the bedroom, he was able to set an alarm clock to ring in a few minutes. He tried his best to ease his large-framed body back into the bed without waking Della. When she didn't even stir as he snuggled in next to her, he knew that he had accomplished his mission so far.

The loud alarm clock surprised Della and she immediately sat up in bed to search for the clock and shut it off. Perry feigned sleepiness and pulled a pillow over his head while Della scrambled to turn off the alarm.

"Who set the alarm? I thought we were going to sleep in today?" After turning off the alarm, Della reached over to give Perry a poke. "Did you set the alarm?"

Perry just groaned and adjusted the pillow over his head. "What alarm? I didn't hear an alarm..."

She covered herself with the bed sheet and leaned over him to take the pillow off of his head. "How could you _not_ hear the alarm?" When she got the pillow off his head she saw his sneaky grin.

He gently pulled her back down on top of him and found her lips for a nice long kiss. "Happy birthday, baby..."

Della slightly pulled back from him when she got a taste of his toothpaste from the kiss. She pulled back the bed sheet covering him and noticed that he was wearing a shirt and pants. "What in the world, Perry? You were already up and dressed weren't you? You set that alarm, didn't you?"

Perry rolled over and laid her back down on the bed to kiss her again as she gently fought off his advances. Then she clasped her hands around his neck as he spoke to her between soft kisses. "I wanted to surprise you..."

She giggled as his trail of kisses moved from her cheek, to her ear and along her neck. "Well, it certainly _was_ a surprise! But I know when you're up to something more... What's next?"

He stopped kissing her when he got to her soft, bare shoulder. "Why don't you get out of bed and find out what's next?" He rolled out of bed and handed her a bathrobe. "You'll probably want this..."

Della got out of bed and put on the robe, tying the sash in a bow across her waist. "Give me a minute. I want to fix my hair and clean up a bit..." As she walked towards the bathroom she suddenly stopped and sniffed the air. "You're baking something! It smells delicious!"

"Then move along so you can come and taste it!"

When she walked into the dining room, Perry was popping the cork on a bottle of champagne. "Oooh! Champagne for breakfast? You're really going all out!" She stood near the table to admire his work.

Perry reached for her hand and guided her to her chair to get her seated. "This is just breakfast. There's more in store for you today... Would you like a mimosa or just plain champagne?" He began pouring the champagne into the flute glasses.

Della smiled up at him. "A mimosa would be wonderful, Monsieur."

He topped off her champagne glass with some freshly squeezed orange juice. "I hope this pleases you, Mademoiselle!"

Still standing after topping off his own glass of champagne with the orange juice, he raised his glass to make a toast. "Happy birthday to the most beautiful woman in the world!" They clinked their glasses together and after a sip of champagne, he leaned down to kiss her.

The fizz from the champagne and Perry's kiss moistened her eyes. "Thank you, Perry. This is a marvelous start to the day."

Perry put his glass down before turning to walk to the kitchen. "It's only going to get better. I hope you're hungry. Breakfast will be served in one minute."

While Della placed the cloth napkin on her lap in anticipation of the meal, Perry emerged from the kitchen carrying a round baking dish in one hand and a bowl of assorted fruit in the other hand. As he placed the baking dish on the table, he announced his creation. "For Mademoiselle, quiche florentine and fruit salad."

"Quiche? You've never made a quiche before... It looks too good to eat!"

He cut a slice of the quiche and placed it on her plate. "I thought it was time for something different. If you don't like it, I can always go back to omelettes or waffles..." He sat down after putting quiche and fruit on his own plate then looked to her for her reaction after her first bite.

"Well?"

Della swallowed and dabbed her napkin to her lips. "Magnifique, Monsieur Mason! I hope this wasn't too much trouble..."

Perry swallowed his first bite. "I'm glad you approve... It was no trouble at all. I'm just glad that, at my request, all of the ingredients were stocked here by our caretaker. Wait until you see what I have planned for your birthday dinner!"

"Dinner? There's enough quiche, croissants, and fruit here to have for breakfast, lunch _and_ dinner..."

He pointed to her plate between bites of his meal. "Eat more, baby. We have a long day ahead of us..."

"I don't know if I can handle any more of your surprises..."

Perry sipped more of his champagne and slowly put his glass down to reach into his pocket. "Speaking of surprises..." He brought a small square gift box out of his pants pocket and placed it on the table in front of Della.

She just stared at it for a moment before Perry prompted her to open it. She was smiling from ear to ear as she opened the box. When she saw the diamond earrings inside she gasped. With her fingertips lightly touching her chin, she looked across the table at him – her eyes glistening with joy.

"They're just beautiful, Perry. Thank you so much – but you really shouldn't have. Taking me to Paris for art classes was more than enough..." She reached a hand across the table to gently squeeze his hand. "I love you!"

Perry brought her hand up to his lips. "Enjoy your day, baby. I love you, too..."

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Paul was seated at an outdoor cafe in Paris drinking his second cup of coffee when the couple he was waiting to meet finally showed up. He glanced at his watch and noted that Jimmy Meacham and Marie Claudet were only thirty minutes late. Paul began to stand up, but Jimmy motioned for him to stay seated.

"Sorry we're a little late, Paul." Jimmy put his arm around Marie and looked down to her smiling. "We had a quick breakfast meal with Marie's parents who are here in Paris and got a late start. Now we're here, so what is it that you want and why couldn't you tell us over the phone?"

"Please have a seat. It's a long story..."

Jimmy pulled out a chair for Marie to be seated and then sat down next to her. "I couldn't believe it when you said that you were here in Paris. Are Perry and Della still here also?"

A waiter arrived to find out if Jimmy and Marie wanted anything and they ordered coffee. Paul lit a cigarette and replied after the waiter left.

"Perry and Della are still here in France – but they've had a little trouble since you last saw them. That's why I've asked you to meet here in person and see if you would like to help them."

Marie was concerned right away. "Monsieur Mason and Miss Street are in trouble? What kind of trouble? I would like to help in any way that I can! I owe them so much for all of the problems I caused them."

Paul tapped an ash from his cigarette in the ash tray. "My plan was to see if Jimmy can give me a hand. It's a problem that involves a highly unethical policeman and I'm working with local authorities to catch this cop in the act."

Jimmy replied right away as the waiter arrived with their coffee. "Sure I'll help, Paul. What do you want me to do?"

"Let me give you a little background on this. Perry and Della were victims of a theft. A group of thieves ran off with Perry's wallet, their passports, and some important legal papers. The cop we're working on has a very profitable racket going when he recovers the stolen goods and then tricks victims into paying him to get their property back. We think that this policeman has Perry's property."

Marie anxiously interrupted Paul. "Monsieur Mason is too smart to fall for a trick like that. Why can't he make the policeman give him back his property? He knows the law!"

Jimmy tapped Marie on the arm to calm her down and let Paul continue. "I think there's more to the story, right Paul?"

"Right. Long story short – we know how this cop operates, but what we don't know is _where_ he's got a lot of the stolen property hidden. So, we're setting him up using a decoy victim as bait. Once our decoy is robbed, this cop will do the investigation. He always manages to recover the stolen property and then he keeps it. From there, he either sells it on the black market or uses it as ransom for victims desperate to get their property back. Jimmy, I was hoping to use you as bait tonight..."

While Jimmy thought it over, Marie wanted more information. "What is this decoy or this bait?"

"In this case it's a person who plays the part of a robbery or theft victim, am I right, Paul?" Jimmy waited for more information.

"That's the idea. Last night we had it all set up, but the usual gang of thieves didn't act on it. Then a rain storm ended our operation. Tonight I have a good plan that our local authorities think will work. I just need you to help out as bait."

Jimmy was raring to go. "Count me in! What do you want me to do?"

Before Paul could answer, Marie also wanted to be involved. "I can help, too, Paul. There must be something I can do."

Paul thought it over. "I think we can use both of you. My plan is to have Jimmy pose as a drunk tourist. Now that I think of it, you, Marie, can act as his girlfriend who needs help with him. We can set this up in the area where these thieves work and hopefully you'll become victims!"

After they finished talking over the details of the operation for later that evening, Jimmy was anxious to tell Paul some news. When Marie excused herself from the table to go to the restroom, Jimmy made sure that she was away from the table before he confided in Paul.

"You mentioned earlier that Marie can act as my girlfriend with this set up tonight. Well, my friend, hopefully she's going to be more than just my girlfriend soon... The reason we were late meeting you this morning was that I was meeting with Marie's father to get his permission to bring Marie back to Los Angeles and marry her. Tomorrow night, I'll pop the question to her!"

Although Paul was not exactly thrilled to hear anything about marriage, he congratulated Jimmy anyway.

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Gripping Perry's arm walking out of the _Musee_ _des_ _Beaux-Arts de Bordeaux_ , Della gently tugged his arm to get him to stop.

"Wait just a minute, Perry. I want to make sure I have that literature from the last collection that we saw." She opened her purse to search for the pamphlets. "Oh, here they are. I wrote notes on them for when we return to Paris and tour _Musee d'Orsay_ later."

Perry watched as she closed the clasp on her purse and gracefully pulled her gloves onto her hands. He asked her, "What was your favorite exhibit here?"

As they continued walking away from the museum Della replied. "It's hard to choose a favorite. Each collection had so many beautiful paintings... But I think the Renoir exhibit was nice."

After a quick glance at his watch, Perry suggested that they find a quiet place for a light lunch and a glass of wine. There was no argument from Della – she told him that it was a good idea because she was starving.

While dining on soup and baguettes, they planned the rest of their afternoon. Della brought out her tour guide booklet and paged through it trying to decide what to do.

"There are so many things to see and do here in Bordeaux. Monuments, parks, cathedrals, other museums. Since I chose our last museum, why don't you choose our next adventure?"

Perry just shook his head and grinned. "It's your day, Della. Your special day..."

She smiled back at him. "I just can't decide... Why don't we take a walk after lunch and just take in the sights?"

"Hmm. Let me see that." He took the guide book from her hands and started to look at the contents. "When I spoke with the caretaker at the château this morning, he gave me a suggestion. Now if I can just find it..." He found a tiny street map in the book and using his index finger to guide his way through the street names, he found what he was looking for right away. "If the birthday girl can't make a decision, I'll make it for her. We're going for a walk along _Rue Sainte-Catherine_..."

Holding hands and strolling along the Rue Sainte-Catherine, Della was in awe of all of the boutiques and cafes on one long street. "I can't believe all of these stores. There are shops for everything all on one street! Shoes, clothing, perfume, jewelry." She pointed across the street from where they stopped and stood to admire the area. "Look! A delicatessen with wine and liquor! What an amazing area. We could spend the rest of the day here just window shopping!"

Perry chuckled. "I have a feeling that you won't be window shopping very long – you'll be wandering in to the first dress shop that you see."

Della gave Perry's hand a little squeeze as they continued their slow walk in the shopping district. "If you'll recall, Monsieur Mason, I brought along enough clothing for a week so I don't think I'll be buying any more clothing..." Then she stopped abruptly when she saw a dazzling dinner dress on display in a shop that they were walking by.

Perry followed her gaze to the mannequin in the display window. Without hesitation, he guided her into the shop where she was immediately greeted by a store clerk.

It only took Perry and the sales clerk two minutes to convince Della to remain in the shop and look for a new dress. Perry took the hint from the sales clerk and Della that the shopping experience in this exclusive dress shop needed only a 'woman's touch'.

"Okay. You've got one hour to try on any and all dresses that you want. I think I need a haircut so I'll be at the barber shop down the street." Before Perry left the shop, he gave the clerk his credit card for any purchases and gave Della a kiss on the cheek.

Perry returned an hour later as he said he would. Della was chatting with the sales clerk at the sales counter – her purchase wrapped and ready to take away. The sales clerk handed Perry his credit card to him while he lifted the package.

"I was expecting more than one parcel to carry out of here. Do I get a look at what's inside?"

Della grinned and placed her hands over the package. "You just need to wait. I'll model it for you at dinner tonight..." She gave him a quick wink.

Perry smiled at her wink. "Speaking of dinner, we need to get going. It's nearly four o'clock. We have another stop to make before we get back to our château." They thanked the sales clerk and walked out of the shop. Once they got outside, Perry continued. "On my way back here, I spotted a butcher shop. I'll just need two minutes in the butcher shop and we'll head back to the car."

"I'm a little confused. Why a butcher shop?" Della asked.

"No questions, birthday girl... You'll just have to trust me that you'll be fed a nice dinner for your special day."

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Shortly after four o'clock, Paul arrived in Captain Lavigne's office with Jimmy Meacham and Marie Claudet. The female operative that he worked with on the detail the night before was already in the office. Paul barely recognized her with her different clothing and the dark wig she was now wearing. Lavigne was on his telephone as other members of the team made their way into the office to go over last minute information before they were to put Paul's new plan into action.

Lavigne hung up the phone and addressed the team. "I think we are all set. Inspector LeMaire is on his way to work right now according to the team members tailing him. Earlier today he was seen with one of our local fences. That fence has been very active dealing with stolen goods but we have not come up with enough evidence to arrest him for anything."

He paused to sip from the coffee cup in front of him before continuing. "We're glad that Beauchamp and Bautiste were able to keep LeMaire and Gassiere from meeting last night. We're still keeping a close eye on Gassiere – he could ruin our strategy for getting to LeMaire... But enough of that for now. Let's listen to Mister Drake's plan for tonight's operation."

Paul introduced Jimmy and Marie to the group and then laid out his plan. "As soon as we see the usual theft suspects in the area, a drunk-acting Jimmy will come into that area and fall over. Marie will try to get him into our taxi that will be driven by one of your officers. We're hoping that the thieves will spot Marie and Jimmy, then rip them off while they help to get Jimmy in the taxi. If that goes as planned and their property is stolen, it will be off to see Inspector LeMaire for the report. Are we all clear so far?"

There were no questions from anyone on the team so Paul continued with his briefing. "Our other decoy will be trolling in the area carelessly carrying her purse and displaying wads of cash near all of the souvenir stands hoping any would-be thieves will take that bait. So potentially we could have two separate theft incidents being reported to LeMaire tonight. Once we get our victims to the police station, the next phase of our operation will take place."

With everyone clear on their assignments, Lavigne sent the teams out on the detail. The police radios came to life when the area surveillance teams spotted Zacharie and his band of thieves loitering in the area. Jimmy and Marie walked out of a wine bar towards a taxi stand and Jimmy made sure that people in the area would notice him by loudly singing a drinking song in English.

Slurring the words to the song, Jimmy staggered along the sidewalk while Marie struggled to walk with him. Just short of the taxi stand, Jimmy tripped and fell down on the sidewalk while Marie tried to get him up off the ground. Jimmy remained on the ground loudly singing while Marie looked around asking passerby's for help. Right on cue, the police officer driving the taxi drove up to the curb. The commotion was enough to get Zacharie and his group to make their move to check out the drunk American tourist trying to get in a taxi.

It only took Zacharie and his team of thieves a moment to go through Marie's unattended purse to remove the previously marked cash and even the loose bracelet on her wrist. While helping to get Jimmy in the taxi, they managed to get Jimmy's gold watch, wallet with marked cash, and a camera from him before they wandered off with the loot.

Paul and Lavigne watched the entire incident with binoculars from a van parked nearby. They both looked at each other and grinned knowing that their plan was working. Lavigne started the engine of the van. "Let's go and set up on the police station. I'll let the rest of the team keep an eye on our other decoy for a while."

When the officer driving the taxi pulled up in front of the police station, he flagged down two police officers walking out of the front door. Speaking in French, he told the officers that he needed help with the two people in his taxi that cannot pay him because they were the victims of a theft. The officers walked Jimmy and Marie into the police station and summoned Inspector LeMaire to assist with the theft report.

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Perry carried the packages into the château and made a suggestion to Della after he closed the entry door behind them. "Why don't you go ahead and get dressed for dinner? And take your time because I need a few minutes to get a surprise ready for you."

Della removed her package from his grip. "Another surprise? Aren't you going just a little overboard on this birthday thing?"

He leaned towards her to give her a kiss on the cheek. "You love to be spoiled. Now move along. I need at least thirty minutes so stay in the bedroom until I call for you." Perry walked her towards the bedroom door as she shook her head at him in a weak protest.

The first thing that Perry did after sending Della to the bedroom was to walk into the kitchen pantry to change into his chef's uniform that Vincent gave him. After fastening the buttons on the jacket, he placed the hat on his head and walked out into the kitchen to start preparing the surprise birthday feast for Della.

He brought out a loaf of french bread and began slicing the loaf to prepare the appetizer – _Fromage_ _fort_. After laying out the bread slices on a baking tray, he combined slices of softened cheese with dry white wine, shallots, and garlic to spread onto the bread. Putting this aside, he began preparing the main course remembering the technique he learned in Vincent's cooking class. Opening the pantry door, he found the scrubbed potatoes that he had prepared earlier in the morning when he made Della's breakfast quiche. He continued to check his watch as he got the potatoes cooking for the garlic mashed potatoes. After assembling the ingredients for the main course, he took a break to open a bottle of red wine and set the dining table with plates and silverware.

Before he walked towards the bedroom to bring Della out into the kitchen, he double-checked his work. He replaced the faded rose in the bud vase on the dining table with a fresh one before he stood outside of the bedroom door.

Rapping his knuckles lightly on the closed bedroom door, he called for her to come out. "Dinner will be served soon, Mademoiselle. Are you ready?"

Della slowly opened the door and Perry stood at the door speechless as he looked at his beautiful birthday girl dressed in her stunning new black sequined strapless dinner dress. Her eyes sparkled as much as the diamond earrings she wore. The simple jeweled necklace was intended to not compete with the beauty of the dress. After a moment he spoke. "Once again, you've outdone yourself! That dress is gorgeous on you!"

She blushed at his compliment and then chuckled when she finally looked over his outfit. "Thanks, but just look at you! I never knew a chef's uniform could look so good." She noticed his name embroidered on his jacket. "And it's even custom made for you! That's a nice surprise!"

After lightly kissing her on the cheek, Perry took her by the hand to walk her to the kitchen. "This outfit is not the surprise I had in mind for you. It's my graduation gift from Vincent who tutored me through an accelerated cooking course at his school. While you were busy studying art, I was studying food preparation..."

"Are you kidding? Cooking classes? You're already a wonderful cook..."

"I wanted to make something special for your birthday. And now that you'll marry me, I have another special meal planned for our honeymoon." Perry got her seated at a small table in the kitchen. "I hope this table is satisfactory for Mademoiselle while I prepare the apéritif."

"Merci beaucoup, Monsieur. It's very cozy in the kitchen. May I ask what you're preparing?"

Perry placed the Fromage fort in the oven to broil, then placed two drinking glasses on the kitchen counter to prepare their beverages. "I'm not going to tell you what's being prepared yet. I want your taste buds to first decide if the food is good, and then to tell me what you think of it." He put lemon slices in the glasses and then added ice on top of the lemon. "And in a moment, we'll start with a beverage fit for a Queen." He brought up a bottle of Dubonnet and another bottle of gin to mix together in the glasses. After a quick stir of the mixture, he presented the drink to her.

Della took the drink in her hand and lifted it to meet the glass that Perry held in his hand. "A toast! To my handsome fiancé and his graduation from a world-famous Paris cooking school!"

Perry gently held her wrist before he touched his glass to hers. "To my beautiful birthday girl. Happy birthday, Della."

They sipped the beverage and Perry waited for her critique. "Well? What do you think of this potion?"

"It's delicious! I've never had this before. Am I allowed to ask what it is now?" Della took another sip of her drink.

"It's a simple drink recipe that Vincent shared with me. When I mentioned earlier that it's a beverage fit for a Queen, it _really is_ a beverage Queen Elizabeth enjoys - Dubonnet and gin." Perry walked away from the kitchen table to check on his bread in the oven.

"I think your surprise birthday dinner is starting out very nice. Whatever is in the oven smells delectable! I can't wait for the main course... Is there something I can do to help you? I feel like a spectator sitting here doing nothing."

Perry placed his glass on the counter and opened the refrigerator to bring out the package from the butcher shop. "You just need to sit and enjoy your day. But if you want to feel useful, I'll let you toss the salad later while I finish the main course." He continued to assemble more ingredients on the counter top in front of him. "Drink up, baby. That's supposed to whet your appetite."

Over the next two hours, the meal progressed from the apéritif to the main course. After making the tossed salad, Della watched over Perry's shoulder as he prepared the red wine and shallot sauce for his _Entrecôte a la Bordelaise._ When they moved to the dining room table to eat, the glow from the candles on the table was the only light in the room as the sky outside darkened. The specially prepared ribeye steaks with the garlic mashed potatoes left them both so full that Perry decided to wait for preparation of the crème Brûlée for dessert. Sitting on the couch in the living room, they sipped their cognac and reminisced about their brief stay in Bordeaux.

"I hope that we come back here some day. France is so beautiful. There's still so much for us to see." Della snuggled in closer to Perry on the couch.

He put his arm around her and kissed her cheek. "Let's make it a point to return some year on our anniversary."

Laying her head back on his shoulder, Della sighed. "That sounds like a good idea..."

Perry placed his glass of cognac on the table and brought his hands up to her necklace. "Before we plan a wedding anniversary, let's finish your birthday." He unclasped the necklace to remove it.

Della flinched and brought her hands up to her necklace. "What are you doing?"

"I'm making room for the rest of your birthday present..." He placed her necklace in one hand while he brought up a long slender gift box to her in his other hand. "I should have given you _this_ gift sooner..."

Her eyes widened as she accepted the gift box in her hands and just stared at the box. "Oh for goodness sake, Perry. You're spoiling me even more..."

"Well, are you going to open it?"

She slowly unwrapped the box and opened the velvet-covered box under the wrap to find an elegant diamond necklace. Her hands were shaking as she removed it from the box.

"It's just beautiful, Perry. You really shouldn't have..."

He gently took the necklace from her hands and she leaned away from him so he could assist her to put it on.

"I couldn't just give you the earrings without a matching necklace. And besides, the diamond is your April birthstone..."

With the necklace fastened around her neck, she turned back to him with her arms around his neck to kiss him. "Thank you, Perry. You've made this my best birthday ever!"

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Inspector LeMaire interviewed Jimmy and Marie about the theft of their belongings. While Jimmy continued to act intoxicated and withdrawn, Marie gave LeMaire most of the pertinent information for the police report. LeMaire perked up a bit when he learned that Jimmy was a wealthy American tourist and that he and Marie were engaged to be married. After learning that Jimmy's missing watch was an expensive Rolex, he wanted to finish getting the information for the report so that he could go out and recover the stolen property.

LeMaire sent Jimmy and Marie on their way when he finished taking the report and immediately left the police station out the back door to go and find the usual culprits – Zacharie and his gang. He cursed to himself for having to go out and find Zacharie on his own now that Beauchamp and Bautiste were no longer working their regular patrol beat. Within two hours he had recovered the stolen property and this time he actually had assistance from two other policemen to keep Zacharie and his gang in jail for the time being.

Lavigne's surveillance teams watched LeMaire return to the police station with a large bag of what they assumed was the stolen property. As part of Lavigne's plan to learn the location of the stolen goods, Beauchamp and Bautiste were sent into the police station under the false pretense of needing to retrieve things from their equipment lockers just to see what LeMaire was doing.

Beauchamp walked by LeMaire's office and saw the recovered goods on his desk. They briefly talked about LeMaire's latest arrest while Beauchamp watched LeMaire place a few of the items back in the bag and then lock the bag up in his office safe. After seeing that, Beauchamp left the police station to report his observations to Lavigne waiting in a van outside.

"He spoke about putting Zacharie and his gang in jail – at least for overnight. He bragged that the stolen property that he had on his desk was part of the loot taken from a drunk, rich, American tourist. Some of the stuff he put in his safe. He said that the watch and a few other things were going to be taken by him to an _appraiser_ later tonight."

Lavigne nodded his approval and with Paul by his side, they thought about what their next move should be. "We're getting closer. We will have to keep an eye on him and follow him to this alleged 'appraiser'. I'll bet he's really bringing it to the place where he keeps the rest of this stolen stuff."

The teams remained in their stakeout positions waiting for LeMaire to leave the station. It was all going as planned until a horrific traffic accident between a tourbus and a taxicab occurred less than a block from the police station. The tourbus overturned onto its side, and the surveillance officers watched in horror while passengers in the vehicles tried to crawl out of the wreckage.

Captain Lavigne made a split-second decision – he released the team to assist the injured at the accident scene instead of continuing their surveillance of LeMaire. Just moments after the surveillance officers left their positions to assist at the accident scene, LeMaire nonchalantly walked out of the police station unnoticed, carrying a small bag of stolen property.

 **TBC**

Thank you for staying with the story. I welcome all reviews and comments.


	11. Chapter 11

**Chapter Eleven**

Perry stretched out his long legs beneath the bed sheets and gave Della a gentle nudge with his foot. "Are you awake?" He pulled her closer to him when he heard her tired sigh. "Time to get up sleepy head... Rise and shine, girl!"

Her eyes still closed, Della snuggled into him and put a hand on his upper arms to gently massage his muscles. "Mmm. I don't want to wake up yet..." Her stomach made a gurgling sound.

Enjoying the gentle massage of his biceps, Perry noticed that her arms were covered by the long sleeves of his pajama top. "When did you put on my pajama top?"

Della blinked her eyes. "Around two o'clock this morning when I got up to go to the bathroom. I noticed that you were wearing only your pajama _bottoms_ by then... When I saw your top on the foot of the bed, I put it on because I was chilly." Her stomach made a louder gurgling sound.

He gently slid his hands up and down her arms. "You're hungry. It must be because I didn't give you your dessert last night..."

She giggled. "Oh, you gave me dessert all right last night... It just wasn't your crème brûlée that you planned on."

Perry grinned, rolled onto his side, and took a hold of her hands. He brought them together on his chest as they now laid face to face in the bed. "I still plan to make that crème brûlée, but first, for breakfast, we're going to have leftover quiche, fruit salad, and croissants..."

"Umm. That sounds good. Dinner was superb last night, by the way... Either Vincent is an excellent cooking instructor or you're a quick-learning student. Or both... If you plan to make more dinners like that back home, you might have to remodel your kitchen."

Perry rolled over onto his back so Della could rest her head on the edge of a pillow on his shoulder. "Ha! We'll be married when we get back home to LA. Maybe we should think about getting rid of our separate apartments and just buy a nice home somewhere. I'll make sure we have a nice kitchen..."

Della adjusted her position on the pillow and rested an arm across his chest. "Our home in Carmel has a nice kitchen. You're always so busy working in LA, that I think the only kitchen you will have time to prepare a nice meal in is when we're away relaxing in Carmel..." She paused and was thinking about his proposal to relinquish their separate apartments. "Do you really think it's a good idea to give up our apartments? I mean, they've been really convenient for both of us – so close to the office and all. So suitable for our life styles..."

He thought to himself right away, " _What if she's having second thoughts about getting married? I better not push future housing arrangements too fast."_ He decided to downplay the subject. "Good point. Once again, your reasoning makes a lot of sense... We'll have to think about that when we get back home..." He heard her stomach growl again. "But right now, we need to get out of bed so I can feed you... I'll go and put the coffee on..." He kissed her on her forehead and sat up on the bed.

She weakly objected and also started to sit up on the bed. "Why don't _I_ make the coffee so _you_ can prepare our breakfast leftovers? After all, it's not my birthday anymore so I shouldn't let you do _all_ the work..."

They got out of bed and headed for the kitchen to get their breakfast made. While Perry heated the leftover quiche, he began discussing their plans for the day while Della started the coffee brewing.

"If you want another quick stroll along Rue Sainte-Catherine before we drive back to Paris, we better get packed up here right after breakfast."

Della's next task was to bring out the rest of the leftover fruit salad from the refrigerator. "Another shopping trip here really isn't necessary. It was a sensational shopping area, though." She put the bowl of fruit salad on the kitchen counter and paused to try and recall their dinner conversation from the night before. "Wasn't there a reason that we were going to return to Paris before this evening? You mentioned something about City Hall last night."

Perry was whipping up the ingredients for the crème brûlée while the quiche was heating. "It wasn't important. I just thought that maybe we could go and check on whether or not our marriage banns were posted. They usually do that at least ten days before the civil marriage ceremony."

"Explain to me again about these _marriage banns_." Della was laying out the croissants on a plate. "Are they really necessary? Really official?"

"As far as I know they're important. Especially in _our_ situation with residency requirements. If the marriage banns are posted for us, your residency requirement that I got waived will show that we are good to go – uh, as soon as we recover or replace our stolen certificate of marriage." Perry placed the crème brûlée mixture in the oven next to the quiche.

Della poured coffee from the percolator into their cups. "I still don't understand why they are necessary. Does anyone ever legally challenge them to prevent a marriage?"

Perry wiped his hands on a towel and was about to answer when he suddenly froze thinking of ways their marriage could be challenged. "I just thought of something... Do you remember if Inspector LeMaire knew that we are going to be married?"

Sitting at the kitchen table and sipping her coffee, Della thought it over. "I think he did! He listed our completed marriage certificate on the stolen property section of the police report didn't he?"

Frowning, Perry slapped his hand down on the countertop. "Damn! I don't remember if he listed each item in the briefcase or just lumped it into a _legal papers_ category. He has to know by now that we weren't arrested as art smugglers – or whatever else he tried to pin on us... I wonder if he's going to try and pull another stupid stunt with the marriage banns?" He looked around the kitchen. "We don't even have a phone here, do we?"

"The caretaker's cottage probably has one. What are you thinking?"

"I should call Paul. He can go and check on the posting at City Hall." He looked at his watch. "It's too early for City Hall to be open right now. Before we leave here and return the keys to the caretaker, I'm going to call Paul!"

Clearly Perry looked concerned, but Della tried to ease his anxiety. She stood up to walk over to him so she could give him a kiss and a hug. "Relax, Counselor... If they are to be posted ten days ahead of our marriage ceremony, they would have been posted yesterday. That gives you over a week to figure out some sort of legal maneuver if we find a problem with them when we get back to Paris."

Perry embraced her harder and kissed the top of her head. "You sure have a way of making me calm down and think straight... Let's enjoy our breakfast and not worry about those damn marriage banns! We don't need any added stress on our long drive back to Paris today." He took the quiche out of the oven and checked on his crème brûlée. "By the time we finish our breakfast, take a shower, and pack up, dessert will be ready!"

Della shot him a mischievous grin. "I was hoping that we'd have dessert after a shower – or were you still talking about your crème brûlée again?"

Perry chuckled. "Hmm. I just love it when you talk so risqué!"

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The morning sun was up in Paris where Paul scratched the beard stubble on his chin and took another slug of his coffee. He looked over to Captain Lavigne who was staring out the window of the surveillance van with a pair of binoculars fixed on a large warehouse door. "It's almost seven-thirty. LeMaire's been inside that place almost an hour already. When are we going to go in and find out what he's doing in there?"

Without removing the binoculars from his eyes, Lavigne replied. "Have patience, Paul. This is his third stop now. We left a team of officers at each of his other stops. When they find something, they'll report it to me. I think you'll agree that the more evidence we collect against LeMaire, the better our case against him will be..."

Paul had to agree. "We're just so lucky that we were able to follow him at all last night. That was a real heads-up move by your officer driving the taxi with Jimmy and Marie last night! We were all so distracted by that bus accident, it was a good thing that your man stayed around the police station and was able to see LeMaire leaving then follow him in the taxi!"

Lavigne lowered the binoculars from his eyes. "We have a good unit. The officer in the taxi would not have known that I pulled the other team members from their surveillance posts to help on that bus crash. He just knew what our objective was and did his job. And your friends Jimmy and Marie were helpful, too. Without their call to us about what my man was doing when he noticed that we were no longer following LeMaire, we might still be searching for LeMaire this morning..."

"Well, I hope he comes out soon. These all-night stakeouts are killing me!" Paul finished drinking the rest of the coffee in his cup.

Lavigne's police radio began to crackle as one of his officers was trying to contact him even though the radio signal was weak. Lavigne tried to make sense of the jumbled radio transmission. He could only hear parts of the broadcast.

"Capitaine Lavigne... entrepôt... remplir un camion... chemin de fer abandonné... comprendre..."

The radio traffic stopped and Lavigne keyed the radio mike to reply. "Le transmission radio est bad. Réessayer."

A moment later the repeated radio traffic came through loud and clear. Lavigne turned to Paul and gave him a thumbs up gesture while he translated it. "One of the teams has found a stash of property big enough to fill a truck in an old warehouse near the abandoned railway!"

Lavigne immediately gave instructions back on the radio for his teams to remain in place until they can follow LeMaire away from the warehouse he and Paul were staked out by. He turned back to Paul. "This was a good thing to be patient with LeMaire. Now we will follow him to his next stop and legally seize all of the property we have uncovered along his route."

Paul was relieved. "Well, now I hope that this is his last stop and he goes home! I'm tired and hungry."

When LeMaire left the staked out warehouse about ten minutes later, he _did_ go home. Lavigne assigned a team to keep watching LeMaire until he could get a new team of rested officers to relieve them of their duties. Paul and Lavigne then drove to the old warehouse near the abandoned railway.

Two of Lavigne's officers met them at the warehouse adjacent to the old railway and walked them into the building. The place was an old abandoned freight office with a large walk-in safe inside. The door to the safe was broken so LeMaire had secured it by piling old wooden pallets in front of it. The officers on site had been able to follow LeMaire into the building without being seen, and watched as he left a box of property inside before he closed the safe door.

Using flashlights inside the old, dark building, Lavigne and Paul took a look inside of the safe. It was full of several boxes containing paper documents, passports, jewelry, art objects, and even household furnishings. After viewing the contents of the safe, Lavigne sent his officers to do the paperwork necessary to legally seize the property.

Lavigne turned to Paul. "It will take several hours to inventory the contents of this safe. If you would like me to have the officers take you back to your hotel, I can arrange that."

Paul caught his second wind upon seeing the property in the safe. "Thanks, but I think I'll just stay here and give you a helping hand. I have nothing better to do right now!"

Altogether, Lavigne's teams recovered stolen property from all three of the places they had followed LeMaire that night. By two o'clock in the afternoon, they were finished sorting and inventorying over one thousand items of stolen property. Back in Lavigne's office, some of the team members and Paul stayed around to add up the cash they recovered.

Lavigne finished adding up the cash on his adding machine and tore off the paper with his figures. "United States currency – nineteen thousand, two hundred and twenty-two dollars. French Francs – twenty-four thousand five hundred. German Deutsch Marks – eight thousand. British pounds – seventeen thousand. They're still counting other foreign currency in our property room. I would say that Chief Inspector LeMaire has a lot of explaining to do!"

Lavigne opened a drawer in his desk and brought out a bottle of brandy. He motioned to a man standing near the office door. "You'll find paper cups in the filing cabinet in the corner. Let's have a drink before we go home and get some rest. If all goes well, our reports will be reviewed by the prosecutor later today and LeMaire will be in front of a _juge_ _d'instruction_ tomorrow after we arrest him!" When everyone in the office filled their paper cup, he proposed a toast. "A votre sante'!" There was a hearty "Tchintchin" reply by Lavigne's officers.

After their second round of brandy, they slowly began leaving the office one-by-one. As the last ones out the door, Lavigne offered to give Paul a ride back to his hotel on his way home. Paul gladly accepted the ride. Walking out of the building Paul was wondering about Perry's property.

"How can we get Perry's property released? He'll need their passports and the briefcase so that they can get married..."

Lavigne thought it over. "Now that it is processed, we'll have to make a request to the prosecutor to release the property before any trial. We can work on that when Mr. Mason returns to Paris. It will be a great relief to him, I'm sure. LeMaire is supposed to work again this evening. At some point, we will serve papers to him at his office and gather the rest of the property out of his office. We have already frozen his bank accounts and sealed the safe deposit boxes. LeMaire is out of business _now_!"

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As Captain Lavigne's team was ending their long overnight of work that afternoon, Inspector LeMaire was waking up in his apartment. After he made a pot of coffee and lit a cigarette, he paged through his police notebook looking for the phone number for his contact at INTERPOL. Cigarette dangling from his mouth, he held the phone to his ear while his call was being sent through to his contact. Unfortunately he was told that his usual contact was not in, so his call was transferred to another INTERPOL administrator. Further informed that his normal go-to man at INTERPOL was suspended from his duties pending an internal investigation, a shocked LeMaire crushed out his cigarette. A moment later, he received more bad news – his order for the detention for Perry Mason was no longer valid. He disconnected the call wondering what went wrong.

LeMaire shrugged off the disappointment of not getting Perry set up for a bogus arrest. If the suspension of his contact at INTERPOL was due to his fraudulent detention request for Perry Mason, so be it. His contact took a chance and was paid quite well for helping out with the illegal request in the first place. After getting dressed, he left his apartment around two o'clock to stop by the apartment of one of his girlfriends. It was his intent to have this girlfriend stop by a bank for him and cash a check from one of his bank accounts funded by profits from his black-market sales. As he walked into the lobby of the apartment, he was surprised to find Fulbert Gasiere standing in the entryway.

"What are _you_ doing here? I thought that you left Paris? That was the word on the street."

"I did leave Paris... And now I'm back. I have some important information for you – but this time _you_ will want to pay _me_ for what I know!" Gasiere kept his distance from LeMaire knowing that at any moment LeMaire would try and bully him.

"I don't buy information from anyone – especially a petty thief like you. Now if you are smart, you will get out of here before I pound you to a pulp again and throw you back in jail!" LeMaire began to walk past Gasiere to go to the elevator.

Gasiere didn't back down and got right to the point. "The police department that you work for knows all about your little money-making scheme..."

That stopped LeMaire in his tracks. He quickly turned back towards Gasiere and grabbed onto him. "You don't know what you're talking about! Where did you hear this?" He pushed Gasiere back into a wall and pinned his arms against the wall. "Who gave you this information?"

Now, worried that his attempt to make some money off of his information was backfiring on him, Gasiere started to talk. "I don't know the policeman's name, but he is a Captain. And he has lots of men following you and now they are even following me! I had to wear a disguise to lose them and get here ahead of you..."

LeMaire did not loosen the grip he had on Gasiere. "How did you even know that I was coming here?"

Gasiere relaxed a little thinking that now he had the upper hand and that LeMaire would listen to his proposal. "I just guessed that you would stop to see your girlfriend. Sometimes you are predictable..."

LeMaire punched him the face causing Gasiere to fall to the floor. "If I am so predictable, you should have seen that coming! Now tell me what you know!"

After beating the information out of Gasiere, LeMaire called for police officers in the area to come and take Gasiere away to jail. He gave the officers instructions as they hauled away the semi-conscious Gasiere. "He needs solitary confinement. Just lock him up for me and I will deal with him later..."

Eventually LeMaire's girlfriend went to the bank for him and returned to him with more troublesome news. He found out that his account has been frozen by the authority of the Federal government so the check was no good. A very worried LeMaire went to a nearby cafe to contemplate his next move. He then noticed the men from Lavigne's team that were still tailing him.

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Paul was dropped off at his hotel by Lavigne and found two phone messages from Perry asking him to check on the marriage banns at City Hall. He thought it over for a moment, then decided that taking a nap after a long night of work was a better idea. There would be plenty of time the next day to see if the marriage banns were posted. He was still asleep around five o'clock when Perry and Della returned to the hotel from their trip to Bordeaux.

A young bellhop accompanied them, bringing their bags up to the suite. The door to the suite banged open against the wall as the bellhop struggled to unload the bags inside the room. He asked if there was anything else that they needed as the bags landed with a loud thud on the floor.

Indicating that there was nothing else needed of the hotel worker, Perry gave the bellhop a generous tip to send him on his way. "Merci beaucoup." The bellhop nodded and backed out of the door. Perry looked around the room. "I wonder where Paul is?"

Della stood in the living room and casually took off her gloves while looking around the suite. She noticed a pair of Paul's shoes by the couch and his suit coat draped over the back of the couch. "I think he's here, Perry. His shoes and suit coat are here anyway."

The bellhop was gone and Perry closed the door behind him. "I wonder if he went to City Hall. The desk clerk said that he got my messages..."

A groggy-looking Paul slowly shuffled out of his bedroom scratching his head. "You could have made a quieter entry into the suite... And no, I did not make it to City Hall. I just got in a couple of hours ago after a full night and morning of action..."

Perry and Della exchanged astounded glances and both of them replied with laughter at the same time. "A full night and morning of _action_?"

When his laughter subsided Perry continued. "Are we to assume that you've recovered from this marriage-in-Mexico business? Who's the girl?"

With a playful look of contempt at his friends, Paul retrieved his pack of cigarettes from the table in front of the couch. After pulling out a cigarette, he lit a smoke before he replied. "I'm glad that you lovebirds find _my_ trivial love life so amusing. But just to let you know – and my expense report will show this – I was out all night and until after noon today recovering _your_ stolen property." He took a long drag on his cigarette waiting for their reaction to his news.

Perry glanced quickly at Della with a pleased look on his face then turned back to Paul. "Do tell us more..."

"Long story short, I think we've put Chief Inspector LeMaire out of business. And what a profitable business it was! He's not under arrest yet, but he might be by later tonight or tomorrow."

Della walked over to Paul and gave him a hug. "That's great news, Paul! If you were out all night until this afternoon, you must be beat! Are you hungry?" She looked around for the room service menu. "May I order something for you to eat?"

Paul waved her off. "I have a better idea. Why don't we all go out for a nice dinner – my treat? Just give me a while to get cleaned up first..."

"I won't turn down an offer like that – unless it ends up on _his_ expense account billed back to _me_!" Perry turned to Della. "Let's get unpacked and ready for dinner. This is a good way to end your birthday getaway!"

"Oh! That's right! Your birthday!" Paul motioned for them to wait in the living room while he hurried back into his bedroom. He emerged a moment later with a long, thin, rectangular gift box that he presented to Della. "For you, Beautiful. Happy belated birthday!"

Della smiled and looked from Paul to Perry and then back to Paul. "Thank you, Paul. You shouldn't have..."

"Well, open it up before you thank me. You might not like it..."

Still smiling, she unwrapped the box and was delighted to see what was inside. "A silk scarf! It's beautiful!" She moved back to Paul and gave him a peck on his cheek. "Thank you again. This will dress up any of my outfits!"

Paul was proud that she liked his gift. "Well, it won't be long until summer is upon us and silk is an outstanding material for a scarf as an accessory to any outfit..."

Perry gave Paul a look of surprise before he moved closer to Della to look at the scarf. "Since when are you a women's fashion expert, Paul?"

"Since I met Julia downstairs in the gift shop!" He gave Perry and Della a wink.

Perry shook his head and groaned. "Let's get unpacked, Della. I think our wandering boy is back in the game..."

While dining later in the hotel restaurant, Paul began telling them what had transpired with the investigation of Inspector LeMaire. "Captain Lavigne and his unit are remarkable to work with. Aside from discovering that LeMaire has several bank accounts all over, and contacts that fence his stolen property, they found out a lot about the theft victims that were brought into his office. This jerk routinely conned some of the female victims into buying their own property back under the guise that that's the way the system works here in France! Seems he was jilted at the altar by his girlfriend who ran off with a wealthy American tourist. Thus, the reason for his animosity towards tourists." He took a sip of his cocktail as Della and Perry listened intently. "And I'm afraid to say, I think he was trying to lure Della away from you, Perry. But his schemes failed miserably..."

Della shook her head in disbelief. "How could he get away with this for so long? It sounds like his supervision on the police department was a complete failure..."

Paul agreed but added, "He must have some dirt on his superiors. This has been going on for at least two years!"

Della had one more thing to add. "Well, for the record, I would have never allowed him to coax me away from my handsome fiancé!"

Perry raised his cocktail glass to propose a toast. "Here's to the demise of _Chief_ Inspector Henri LeMaire – compliments of Captain Maximilian Lavigne and some fine work by Paul Drake!" Then he grinned before adding, "And here's to my beautiful girl who has _very_ good taste in men!"

Smiles all around, they clinked their glasses together to complete the toast.

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The next morning, loud voices in the living room area woke Perry and Della from a sound sleep. Della cuddled in closer to Perry as he shifted onto his back to make her more comfortable. "That sounded like Paul's voice. I didn't recognize the other voice. What time is it, Perry?"

Perry adjusted the bedsheets covering them and gently caressed Della's back. He glanced at the alarm clock on the nightstand. "It's almost eight o'clock. I thought he'd sleep until at least noon today since he stayed up all night the night before..."

They heard Paul saying, "Merci" and then heard the door to the suite close. They both wondered what Paul was up to. Then Della caught a whiff of bacon. "Umm. I think Paul is having breakfast..."

Paul was standing outside of their bedroom door with a room service cart loaded with breakfast food, fanning the aroma of crisply fried bacon towards them. "Time to get up, lovebirds! Breakfast is here!"

It only took Della a moment to put on a robe over her nightgown and open the bedroom door. "What's the occasion for such an early start to your day, Paul?" She walked into the living room fixing her hair the best that she could with her fingers.

A moment later, Perry wearily emerged from the bedroom tying the belt from his robe around his waist. "Yes! What's the rush to start your day, Paul?"

Paul ushered them towards a dining table where he had the table set for three persons. "While you two are off on your errands, I will be touring Paris with a very pretty local tour guide..."

Grinning, Perry assisted Della into a chair at the table. "Would this ' _pretty local tour guide_ ' by any chance be a sales clerk from our hotel gift shop named Julia?"

After he finished pouring three cups of coffee, Paul uncovered the breakfast platters for everyone to help themselves family style to scrambled eggs, bacon, and croissants. "Before you get all worked up about this, I'll let you know that she offered to show me around. Geez, I've been to Paris now about a dozen times for work. Don't you think it's about time I actually see the sights for once?"

While the men loaded their plates, Della was already swallowing a strip of bacon but managed to give Paul encouragement. "I think you deserve a nice day off to sightsee, Paul. I just hope that you don't end up moving here to chase after a French girl like Jimmy Meacham did!"

After breakfast, Paul left to meet up with Julia while Perry and Della took a taxi to City Hall. On a bulletin board in the hallway outside of the _Bureau_ _des_ _Mariages_ , they anxiously looked for a posting of their marriage banns. Della found it right away. "This must be it, Perry. That's your name on the Jeune Mari'e line and my name for La Mariée'..."

They stood in front of the document trying to translate the legal terms from French to English. Perry put his arm around her and pulled her closer. "It looks legal to me. I think we're a step closer to a wedding!"

Della tilted her head to the side resting it on his shoulder. "Would you like me to take notes and write down every word on the document so you can translate it to be sure?"

"I can translate enough to know that this is what we need."

While they continued reading the document, a man wearing a clerical collar walked up to the board and stood next to them. "Excusez-moi. Est-ce que votre mariage affichage bann?"

Perry turned to the man to reply that the document was their marriage banns. "Yes... Uh, oui..."

With a heavy French accent the man replied in English. "Oh, you are not French? Maybe British or American?"

"We're from Los Angeles, California – in America." Perry was really specific.

"How nice to come to Paris to be married. Will you have a religious ceremony in a chapel after your civil ceremony here in City Hall?"

Perry looked closer at the man and noticed the clerical collar so he thought there was no harm in telling a minister of their plans for marriage. "Yes. We will be married here in about a week and then we will find a chapel for a more official ceremony."

The minister smiled and nodded his head. "You say that you need to find a chapel? I will be glad to help you with that."

Perry and Della exchanged surprised glances before Perry replied. "Just how can you help us?"

The minister looked around and then guided them to walk away from the bulletin board as other people arrived to view other marriage banns documents. "I am the new minister of a small chapel not far from here. Parts of the chapel are being rebuilt, uh, as you say remodeled... Our funds are running a little short for this project because I cannot conduct regular Sunday services during this remodel. When I do not have a congregation, I cannot collect money."

Perry got the hint. "But in the meantime you will perform small marriage ceremonies for a fee to make up for the revenue lost by not being able conduct regular Sunday services."

The minister nodded enthusiastically. "Oui! Oui! You understand, Monsieur!" He reached into his suit coat pocket and brought out a small notebook. After scribbling out his name and address for the chapel, he handed the paper to Perry. "Will you come to my chapel, uh, perhaps tomorrow at this time and look at the facility?"

Perry accepted the note and handed it to Della to review. "I think we can do that."

Holding Perry's hand upon leaving City Hall, Della was a little cynical. "Things are really different here in France. I've never heard of a minister that needs to hang out in City Hall to solicit business for his chapel..."

Perry gently squeezed her hand. "Okay, _Miss Doubting Della_... But let's check it out tomorrow anyway!"

After leaving City Hall, the pair worked on more of their errands. The Matisse painting that they purchased on their way to Bordeaux was shipped home to Los Angeles. Della stopped by her art school to finalize her schedule for her final week of classes. After a light lunch at a sidewalk cafe, they returned to the hotel.

Perry stopped by the front desk to see if there was a message from Paul, but was surprised to find an urgent message to call Captain Lavigne instead. When they got up to their suite, Perry called Lavigne.

"Thank you for calling, Mr. Mason. Welcome back to Paris! I have to inform you of a couple of things right away. First, my team is needed for a dignitary protection detail that we were notified of this morning. We are no longer able to keep an eye on Inspector LeMaire."

Perry was thankful for all that Lavigne had done for them. "I understand completely, Captain Lavigne. You did a big favor for us and we're very grateful..."

Lavigne had more news for Perry. "Thank you, but I have more information for you that you might not like at all. We'll need to keep your stolen property a little longer than expected because the paperwork to arrest Inspector LeMaire has not been completely reviewed by the Prosecutor. Even worse, before I had to pull my team away from watching him this morning, we found out that Gasiere told him that we have uncovered his crimes. Then we learned that he slipped away from our surveillance team. So he has not been arrested and we do not know where he is. If he thinks he will be arrested, we don't know what he will do. I need to urge you to be very cautious because right now, you don't have us to protect you and LeMaire can be very unpredictable at this point..."

When Perry finished the call to Lavigne, he gave Della the bad news. She walked over to him to put her arms around his waist and rest her head on his chest. "I think we'll have to keep Paul on the payroll until Inspector LeMaire is locked up and no longer a threat to us."

Perry wrapped her in his arms and kissed her on top of her head. "I think you're right."

 **TBC**

Thanks for reading. I really appreciate your comments!


	12. Chapter 12

**Chapter Twelve**

With the bright afternoon sun shining over Paris, Della took advantage of the nice weather to set up a painting easel on a bridge over the Seine River. One of her last assignments for art class was to produce a sketch using charcoal. She had a sketch pad of light-colored pastel paper resting on the easel, and with a great view of the Eiffel Tower in the background, she was trying to put the finishing touches on her drawing.

She sighed as her model kept moving his head around as she was adding finishing touches to the head of her silhouette figure looking out towards the famous tower. "Perry! Will you please stop moving your head? I'm almost finished and I need you to keep your head still. I want you looking out over the river towards the Eiffel Tower."

Perry turned his head back to the position that Della had posed him in thirty minutes before. "How's this?"

"Perfect! Now stay still!" She scratched at the surface of the paper with her charcoal pencil in between quick glances at her model.

"I was only looking around to make sure we are safe out here on the bridge. If LeMaire knew that this is the bridge where I proposed to you, he might look for us here..."

"Don't be ridiculous, Perry. He's been on the run for four days now and I doubt that he's going to take time in his flight from capture to seek out _us_..."

"You might be right, but I still don't trust him. There's no logic to his behavior..." He kept his head still but kept his eyes moving watching people walking on the bridge towards them.

Della continued sketching and just shook her head. "I think you've become even more paranoid. You need to relax and quit worrying about LeMaire..." She held her pencil back from the paper and looked over her work. "I think I'm finished..."

"May I see it now? Is it okay for me to move?" He turned to face her.

"Yes. But I want your _objective_ opinion. My instructor told me this one will be graded."

Perry stood alongside her and looked over the work of art with a surprised look on his face. "Hmm. Very interesting... It's very good, Della. So you just added the figure of a woman next to the shape that I posed for? Why did you need me to model at all?"

"To keep you out of trouble!" Della looked over the sketch and put the charcoal pencil back to the paper again to smooth out a few lines. "When you're here with me, you're not digging into LeMaire's case."

"I was only doing some research on French laws regarding rules of evidence yesterday...It was perfectly legal – and Paul was with me..."

Della raised a brow then shook her head at his flimsy excuse. "Well, your _research_ nearly got you in trouble with the prosecutor."

"I simply made an inquiry about getting our property back..."

"Ha! You and Paul tried to coerce a pretty young female property clerk into releasing the property to you using an obscure evidentiary law..."

"I only wanted to see what they had inventoried. At least my inquiry got us an appointment to meet with the prosecutor tomorrow morning." Perry quickly changed the subject. "If you're finished with your charcoal masterpiece, let's get packed up here and find a cafe for a cup of coffee on our way back to the hotel."

"If you'll take apart the easel, I'll get my supplies put away in the box."

Perry took another look at the sketch as he lowered the paper pad from the easel. "You know what? This sketch is _really_ good! Suitable for framing... It's a perfect reminder of the night we stood on this bridge and I proposed..."

"That's exactly what I wanted it to portray! If the art school allows me to keep it after it's graded tomorrow, I'm taking it home to hang on the wall in our den in Carmel..."

He gave her a quick peck on her cheek as he gathered the easel and sketch pad under his arm. "It might look better in our bedroom..."

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As the dinner hour approached, Perry stood at the door to their hotel suite waiting for Della to come out of the bedroom. "C'mon, Della. By the time we get to the restaurant, they'll be finished with the first course..."

"I'll just be another minute. We have plenty of time to get to the restaurant." Della was still seated in front of the vanity mirror putting on her earrings.

Perry walked to the bedroom door checking his watch. "Getting a taxi at this hour is not always easy."

Della stood up and lightly sprayed on her perfume. "Relax, _Monsieur_ Mason. We'll be fine... Will you zip me up please?"

Perry walked further into the bedroom and finished zipping up the back of her dress.

She took another quick glance at herself in the mirror while Perry looked on from behind her. "I want to look presentable to meet Vincent's fiancé... How do I look?" She slowly turned around to show off her dress.

"Ravishing!" He took her by the hands and pulled her towards him for a kiss. "You'll be the most beautiful woman in the restaurant... If we ever get there..."

The taxi delivered them to the restaurant at precisely seven-thirty as planned. The exterior of Chez L'Ami Louis was nondescript, however, once inside the bistro, the aroma of rotisserie meats cooking lured the dining guests in and heightened their appetites. The red and white checkered curtains over the windows added a charming setting for fine dining the French way.

Perry and Della were immediately brought to a table where Vincent and his sweetheart Monique had just been seated. After the introductions were made, the couples sat down while a waiter, dressed in a sharp white jacket, took their drink orders.

Vincent gave an overview of the restaurant. "When this place was established in the mid-1920's, the neighborhood was a lot more elegant than it seems right now. The ownership has not changed, and the quality of food is a big draw for locals and tourists alike. When I left Dijon for Paris many years ago, I was hired as a sous chef here..."

Perry and Della continued to look around the small bistro. Della commented on the aroma right away. "It smells so good in here. What's the specialty of the house?"

"The aroma," Vincent replied, "is more than likely one specialty: _poulet_ _roti_. But I think you will also enjoy the foie gras. If you don't mind, I took the privilege of ordering ahead of time for us. We'll each have tasty morsels of all of the wonderful things on the menu."

Their beverages arrived and they raised their glasses for a toast as proposed by Vincent. "To good food, and good friends!"

While dining, they discussed Perry and Della's wedding plans. Perry proudly announced the details of their wedding day. "According to authorities at the Bureau of Marriages in City Hall, our civil vows will take place at ten o'clock in the morning. We'll have a brief ceremony witnessed by my best man Paul and Della's maid-of-honor, Marilyn. At noon, we'll be in a small chapel in _Chapel_ _Expiatoire_ where we'll be married by a local minister." Perry looked lovingly at Della as he reached for her hand and gave her a wink.

Vincent and Monique exchanged glances before Vincent replied. "When we received your wedding invitation, Monique and I came up with a wedding gift for you. Right after the wedding in the chapel, we have arranged for a small reception with a light luncheon prepared by students from our school."

Perry and Della smiled with delight. "Wedding gifts are not necessary," Perry replied, "but I don't think we can turn down an offer like that, can we Della?"

Della liked the luncheon idea. "Absolutely not! If the students make any kind of meal like _you_ have learned to prepare, we're in for a fabulous luncheon!"

But Vincent wasn't done with his wedding presents. "The luncheon is really no trouble at all. The best thing I can give you is the keys to a cottage in Tours. If you'll recall Perry, I told you that my friend has a place in the Loire Valley that he plans to sell. It's yours for your honeymoon if you have no other plans..." He handed Perry an envelope with the keys and a map to the cottage.

Perry accepted the envelope and raised his drink glass for another toast. "To good luck and best wishes for our upcoming marriages! Thank you!"

After they sipped from their glasses, Della added one more comment. "And let's hope that the cottage in Tours has a kitchen nice enough for a good honeymoon dinner!"

Back at the hotel after dinner, Perry and Della saw Paul in the lobby. Paul invited them to the hotel bar for a nightcap. "I'm glad I caught you here before we go up to the suite. I have something to ask both of you..."

As Perry got Della seated in the bar, she had a question for Paul first. "Where have you been all day? You weren't with Julia because I saw her working in the gift shop today..."

Paul finished exhaling the smoke from his freshly lit cigarette. "I was with Julia earlier. We had a casual dinner after she got off work. But to answer your question, after you two left this morning, Captain Lavigne returned my call to him and I got to tag along on their dignitary protection detail today. It was quite a learning experience!"

Della expressed her concern about Paul's relationship with Julia. "That sounds exciting, but let's get back to Julia. She's a very nice girl. Does she know about your situation back in LA?"

Paul just rolled his eyes. "She's very much aware of my situation back in LA. I know you like to worry about things like that, but trust me on this, I won't do anything dumb here in France."

Della reached over to touch Paul's hand. "I just worry about you..."

"Until Perry helps me straighten out that mess in Mexico, I'm being very careful. But enough of that!" Paul quickly changed the subject. "I wanted to meet with you to ask you something. We don't have long before your wedding day. What I need to know from the two of you is when can I arrange for a bachelor party for Perry?"

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On their way to meet with the prosecutor the next morning, Perry and Della were still _discussing_ Paul's plan for a bachelor party. Della still wasn't convinced that any bachelor party being planned by Paul in a foreign country was a good idea.

Perry held open the door to the building as Della walked in holding his arm. "I don't mind you and the boys going out for a drink or two, but when Paul is in charge of something like this, I see trouble coming. Strippers and other salacious activities come to mind – especially in Paris!"

Once inside the building, Perry stopped to read the building directory. "Oh c'mon, Della. Paul is nothing like that. He's just out to have a good time..." He found the name of the prosecutor on the directory board. "Here's the man we're going to see – Luc Jureau. Second floor..." He guided Della to the elevator.

Della was quiet while they rode the elevator with other people inside. Once they got off the elevator, she continued her concern about a bachelor party. "I'm not saying that Paul will suggest _participating_ in those activities, but he can easily be led astray in a group of inebriated men."

They found the office they were looking for and Perry paused before opening the door to enter. "Paul told us last night in the bar that he's laying low until we figure out his marriage stuff. Let's talk about this later. We have more important things to talk about with a prosecutor right now."

Luc Jureau's secretary immediately escorted Perry and Della into his office. Jureau stood up to greet them as they entered.

"Mister Mason, Miss Street? It is indeed a pleasure to meet both of you." He shook Perry's hand and offered chairs for them to be seated. "Would you like some coffee?"

"Yes, please. Coffee would be nice..." Perry held the chair for Della to sit down. "I should apologize right away for the confusion I caused the other day when I made an inquiry about the property you have in evidence for our case..."

The secretary left to go and get the coffee. Jureau waved his hand in the air and continued with his welcome. "That is not a problem anymore. In reviewing most of the facts in this case with your stolen property and other elements, I have discovered a lot of things about your background. You're quite a legal legend in Los Angeles!"

The coffee was brought in by the secretary and she placed the cups with Perry and Della. Perry thanked her, then directed his attention back to Jureau. "I have a great support staff. But if a check of my background included speaking with the District Attorney in Los Angeles County, you probably didn't hear very flattering things."

" _Au, contraire_ , Mr. Mason. I met Hamilton Burger two years ago at a conference in Los Angeles. He had many good things to say about you and your lovely staff. I wish I could have met you then."

Perry had a look of surprise on his face. "Well, I suppose we have the same goal in mind which is fair justice for all. I have a lot of respect for Mr. Burger and even though we are at odds with each other in certain legal situations, we _are_ friends."

Jureau nodded in agreement. "That is all that counts!" He changed the subject. "I should not take up so much of your time with pointless chatter. I should be the one apologizing for not keeping you informed about the status of your case. Then you would not have had to try and sweet talk a secretary to learn about your property. Well, the good news is that I have your property here and I can release it to you today." He pointed across the room to a large table with boxes of various sizes and shapes laying on top of the table. "We have already arranged a plea bargain with the main thief, Zacharie, and his group of thieves. That is the reason I can release your property."

Perry looked over to the table. "Uh, may I take a look?"

Jureau stood and gestured for Perry to walk over to the table. "You will have to look through all of the boxes. We have the property for several other victims mixed in with yours."

They all gathered at the table to begin sifting through the items in the boxes. Della began looking through a box that contained several passports while Perry dug through a large box to remove a leather briefcase. Della found their passports right away.

"I have our passports!" She paged through the booklets to see if they were completely intact.

Perry laid the briefcase on the table and opened it up. "This is definitely my briefcase. Now I hope that there is nothing missing from it."

Della stood next to him with the passports in her hand and looked through the briefcase contents with him. "Here's Mr. Arnault's file." She quickly paged through the folder. "I don't think anything was disturbed in this file."

Perry held up their marriage certificate. "Here's the most important thing in the briefcase!"

Jureau smiled. "Yes! That document is not easy to replace in some situations." He picked up a smaller box on the table. "But this box contains something important, too. Captain Lavigne wanted to make sure you recovered the contents of this box, also." He handed the box to Perry.

"Great! My checkbook... I'm not missing any checks." He dug further into the box. "My wallet!" Perry immediately opened the wallet to check on the contents. "Hmm. My credit cards, a few business cards... The cash is gone though..."

Jureau reached into the bottom of the box and removed a bundle of US currency bills. "I believe this is _your_ cash. Three hundred fifty-eight dollars all bound together with a rubber band, and a wallet-sized photograph of Miss Street should be enough proof that this is yours. Captain Lavigne reported that it was found separately in Inspector LeMaire's desk drawer."

Perry took the wad of money and the photograph in his hand. "Will any of this evidence be needed for prosecution of that swindler LeMaire?"

"I am confident that your property will not be needed for prosecution. We have so much other evidence to use against him. And the charges against LeMaire are now more than just his stolen property fencing operation. I can tell you, Mr. Mason, LeMaire is facing far more serious charges from our Federal authorities. He is a man on the run, but we will find him!"

Perry put his wallet back together. "Yes, you'll find him. Cocky, egotistical men like him are not smart enough to get away. Yep, you'll find him soon, and I hope he rots in prison when all is said and done!"

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"It's just _lunch_ , Della." Once again Perry impatiently waited at the door to their hotel suite for Della to emerge from their bedroom.

"I'm changing out of that yellow dress. Just give me five more minutes. Please? Does it look like it's going to rain?"

Perry took a quick glance at his watch and decided to sit down in the living room and wait. "It's a little cloudy out right now. I recommend that you have a raincoat just in case..." He found Della's large sketch pad on the coffee table and began paging through her sketches from art class. He paused to view a sketch of a scene looking out of a large picture window over an ocean shoreline.

Della came out of the bedroom carrying her light raincoat on her arm while she attempted to clip on an earring. "Okay. I'm ready..." She noticed that he was looking at her sketch book. "Hey! Those are private!" She walked over towards him to try and snatch the book from his hands.

Perry held onto the book. "These are very good, Della! Especially this one." He displayed the ocean view scene.

"Oh, that... I was imagining what the window view from our bedroom in Carmel would look like from a sunken bathtub." She gently tugged at the book. "Give me that..."

"View from the bedroom in Carmel, huh? Sunken bathtub, huh? That's not such a bad idea... We'll have to think about that. We can remodel the bedroom if you want..."

She recovered her sketch book. "The assignment that day was to draw just whatever came to mind – no models or actual scenery. So, that was in my imagination... Are we ready to go to lunch now? I don't want to keep Marilyn and George waiting."

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Both couples met at the cafe at the same time. After they were all seated, and their beverages were ordered, they began talking about plans for Perry and Della's wedding – just two days away.

Perry gave an overview of what was expected for the civil ceremony. "We'll all be waiting in the hallway outside of the room where they perform the ceremony. They'll call our names to go inside and approach the official who will already have our paperwork. The actual ceremony will be brief, afterwards we'll all sign the marriage certificate and we'll be out the door."

Della interjected right away. "Don't forget the family register part, Perry."

"Oh, right. They give us what they call _Livret_ _de_ _famille_. It's a little booklet that we receive to record our names, etcetera. I think we'll need to show it at the chapel ceremony."

Marilyn could barely contain her joy for Della and Perry. "This is all so exciting – and it's all coming together nicely. You've certainly had to overcome so many obstacles to get married here. I'm just so glad that we ran into you here in Paris and can be a part of it."

Della reached for Marilyn's hand on the table and patted the top of her hand. "Just knowing that you've made it back to Paris from your business trip to be in the wedding is reassuring to me – one less thing to worry about."

Perry grinned and shook his head. "And I'm glad that she's more relaxed knowing that you're here." He winked at Della. "Now she can just worry about the stag party tonight!"

Marilyn defended Della. "Oh, you men and your silly bachelor parties! Well, us girls are planning a good time tonight, too, so you better not get in any trouble. Us girls won't be around to bail you out of jail from our gathering, will we Della?"

Della gave Marilyn a wink and a grin. "You're right, Marilyn. If the boys get in trouble tonight, they're on their own."

Perry frowned looking at George. "The ' _boys_ ' will be fine. We're worried more about you girls since you won't tell us where you're going or what you're going to be doing." He furrowed his brow at Della.

With a triumphant chuckle, Della countered. "Ha! When I tried to find out what Paul planned for you boys tonight, I was laughed out of the conversation. So now we're even." She fluttered her eye lashes at Perry with a big smile.

"I still don't like it. Especially with all of the things that have been going on lately. And the fact that LeMaire is still on the loose..." Perry was nearly scowling.

"Whoa now!" Marilyn thought that Perry and Della were getting a little testy. "At least wait until you get married before you bicker. I'll only say this: the girls will be safe and we won't be too far away from your hotel. So you boys better behave. Now let's have a nice lunch and stop worrying about the plans for tonight!"

Perry grunted. "You two girls are so alike when it comes to scolding." He smiled. "Let's leave it at that and have lunch... Garçon?" He motioned to get the waiter's attention.

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The evening festivities were about to begin and this time Paul anxiously waited for Perry at the door to the suite. "C'mon, Perry. They guys are probably already waiting downstairs in the bar..."

Perry was still in the bedroom with Della. "Well? You heard him. The guys are waiting for the groom-to-be... Last chance to tell me what you girls will be up to..."

Della stood up on her tiptoes to give him a peck on the cheek. "Don't keep the boys waiting. Have a good time. Don't forget your curfew is eleven o'clock! We have a long day tomorrow..." She ushered him towards the door.

He slowly walked with her towards the living room where Paul was still standing near the door. "Do I at least get a kiss better than that paltry smooch on the cheek?"

Della motioned for Paul to turn his head so she could kiss Perry goodbye. Paul turned away muttering. "For the love of Pete... Get it over with – I'll wait out in the hallway."

Her hands slid up his chest and locked around the back of his neck. Perry embraced her and lightly kissed her forehead. He tightened his hold on her and found her lips with his for a nice long kiss.

When their lips parted, Della urged him to move along with a heavy sigh. "Enjoy your boys night out. And don't forget your curfew..."

Perry stole another quick kiss. "I'll be back here way ahead of my curfew – and you better be here waiting." After a gentle pat on her behind, Perry walked out of the suite.

Marilyn arrived at the door as Perry walked out. "Bye boys!" She walked into the suite to see if Della was ready to go. "Shall we give the boys a head start leaving the hotel so we can be sure they don't follow us?"

"I'm not worried about that. If they want to follow us to the dress shop, so be it. Are the other girls meeting us there or downstairs in the lobby?"

"They'll be in the dress shop. I got a hold of everyone we thought of – Vincent's girl Monique, your friend from the jewelry shop Monica, Paul's friend Julia, and of course Marie and her mother. This will be so much fun! A fashion show for the bride to choose her outfits for the marriage ceremonies – with wine and appetizers included. I think this was one of my better ideas ever!"

Della agreed. "That's why I'm thrilled that you'll be my maid-of-honor! And I think it's funny that the men are so worried about what us girls will be doing tonight! It was a good idea not to let them in on your secret."

"If I know a little about men, I know they'll be thinking about us. And when they're doing that, they won't pull off any shenanigans with – you know – the strippers or other alluring women out there in the nightclubs."

Della gathered her purse and a light wrap. "I hope you're right. It was hard to keep the secret from Perry. Shall we go?"

Della and Marilyn soon met the other girls at Gigi's Boutique. They were already sampling appetizers and sipping wine as Della walked in. The store owner, Gigi, was introduced to Della by Marie.

"Welcome to my boutique, Miss Street! It's so nice to meet you. I am so glad that Marie asked me to help you to choose your wedding attire here."

Della was in awe as she looked around the shop. "You have so many beautiful things here, Gigi. I don't know how I missed seeing this place – it's so close to my hotel and all..."

"Well, you will remember it always from now on! And with the help of all these lovely ladies, we will outfit you in glamorous apparel, not only for your marriage ceremonies, but also your honeymoon."

The room erupted in giggles with the mention of the honeymoon, and the women got to work getting Della ready for her wedding day.

After leaving the hotel bar, the first stop for the men and their stag party was the Moulin Rouge for front row seats to watch the Cancan dancers. Paul made sure that the drinks were flowing throughout the performance. What Perry didn't know was that he was drinking doubles while the other men were drinking watered down booze. Throughout the course of their performance, the sexy female dancers managed to cover Perry in feathers from their costumes, and lipstick from their kisses on his cheek.

After leaving Moulin Rouge, the men loaded Perry into a taxi for their next stop at a smaller cabaret closer to their hotel. They entered the next cabaret for more song and dance with a little dinner thrown in between acts. Paul and the boys couldn't stop laughing when they noticed that Perry's suit coat was still trimmed with small feathers from the Cancan dancers at Moulin Rouge. After the final act, Perry was slurring his words and his hands fumbled around as he tried to loosen his neck tie. Paul knew it was time to get him back to the hotel – well ahead of the curfew imposed by Della.

After the men all left their separate ways by taxis, Paul was trying to keep Perry awake so he could get the big man out of their taxi at the hotel.

Paul checked his watch. "We're almost at the hotel, pal! Della will be happy that you'll be back before curfew."

A very intoxicated Perry took in a deep breath and slowly exhaled before he shakily turned his head towards Paul. "Della's my girl, Paul. The _best_ damn girl in the world! In two days she's gonna marry me! What do you think of _that_?" Perry began to slouch sideways in the taxi.

"I think it's great that you'll finally marry that girl!" Paul tried to keep Perry sitting up straight.

Perry struggled to stay sitting upright and keep his eyes open. "I think I wanted to marry her from the moment I met her! But she'd say ' _Not right now, Perry_ ' or ' _Some day I'll marry you, Perry_ '. And now, right here in Paris France, she's _really_ gonna marry me!" Perry's head dropped forward.

The taxi arrived at their hotel and the staff at the door assisted Paul and Perry out of the taxi. Perry was very unsteady on his feet, but Paul managed to hold on enough to walk him into the lobby. Before they made it to the elevators, they came across a commotion with a young couple.

The young man was trying to walk with a woman who was either really drunk or sleepy. The tipsy woman fell towards Paul who managed to catch her before she collapsed in his arms.

The young man was apologetic. "Je suis désolé..." He took hold of the woman to lessen Paul's struggle to keep Perry upright.

Paul was trying to think of a reply in French, but under the circumstances he just said, "No problem. I think we share the same predicament."

When the young man heard Paul speaking in English, they began explaining their difficult situations to each other in English while Perry and the woman stood swaying. After that slight delay in the lobby, Paul managed to get Perry up to the suite and Perry immediately headed for the couch. It wasn't long before he was out cold.

Two minutes later, Della walked in to the suite and gasped when she found Perry passed out on the couch with a young woman in his arms.

"Perry! What on earth is going on here?"

 **TBC**

Thanks for staying with the story! It's _almost_ finished. As always, all comments and reviews are welcome.


	13. Chapter 13

**Chapter Thirteen**

Della dropped her garment bags in the entryway, a little annoyed at seeing Perry sitting on the couch in the suite with a young woman snuggled into his shoulder. She repeated her question, this time a little louder.

"Perry! What on earth is going on?"

The loud voice caused the woman in Perry's arms to stir a little, but without even opening her eyes, she just cuddled in closer. By now Perry was snoring loudly.

As Della walked over to the couch, Paul walked out of his bedroom drying off his face and hands with a towel.

"Hiya, Beautiful! How do you like that? I got him back before your curfew!"

Della was not amused. "He's back before curfew all right, but it looks like the party is still going!"

Paul suddenly realized that Della was not aware of the circumstances for the reason that there was a young woman sleeping in Perry's arms on the couch.

"Uh, I can explain this! It's not what it looks like. Trust me – the party's over! We just came across this young couple in the lobby. There was an issue with their room reservation for this hotel and his wife – the young lady you see here – was sleepy from drinks with their dinner and their long airline flight from the States. I had my hands full with Perry and the young man helped me to get Perry here. I merely offered to keep an eye on his wife while he takes care of business at the front desk...

There was a knock at the door and Paul walked over to answer it. The young man was at the door to get his wife.

"How is she? Was she any trouble?"

Paul invited the man inside. "See for yourself... I got them both to a safe place so neither of them could fall on the floor!"

The man entered the living room area, nodded to Della, and attempted to wake his wife. "Wake up, sweetie. We have a room now. Let's go..." He gently shook her and she lifted her head off of Perry's shoulder. After looking around the room, she stood up and tried walking with her husband to the door.

Paul walked over to help while Della stood back and watched. Perry stopped snoring when he adjusted his sitting position on the couch but was still snoozing. After the young couple left the room, Della walked over to Perry on the couch and brushed off the small feathers from Perry's suit coat.

"It looks like he had a good time. How long before he sobers up? I'd like him to be with me for my art school graduation tomorrow morning..."

"He'll be fine by morning. He had a good time tonight – he just didn't know that we were giving him doubles while our drinks were quite a bit weaker. It was heavy drinking for the groom so that he'd be relaxed when we brought out all the sexy dancers to fawn all over him. After all, that's the purpose of a stag party isn't it?"

Della shook her head. "I always thought that the purpose of a stag party was to celebrate the groom's last days as a carefree single man, not to get the groom so drunk that he'll have regrets in the morning... I don't know if I should order up some coffee from room service or just put him to bed like this." She gently nudged Perry's shoulder. "Perry? Are you going to sleep on the couch tonight or come to bed?"

Perry lifted his head, opened his eyes, and looked around the room. He grunted, brought his hands to his face, and rubbed his forehead. "Where are we going now? Is the show over already?"

Della crouched down in front of him. "The show's over. It's time for bed." Perry seemed to just stare right through her.

Paul walked over to the couch and shook Perry's shoulder. "Up and at 'em, Perry. The party's over. Your girl says it's time for bed. C'mon – I'll help you up."

With Paul's help, Perry stood up and steadied himself before he tried to walk with Paul. "The party's over? Time for bed? Where's the men's room in this place?"

As Della followed the men towards the bedroom, Paul made a suggestion to Perry. "How about some nice cold water on your face? That will feel really good."

Della made a special request. "Please _do_ splash some water on his face, Paul. And try to scrub off some of those lipstick smudges on his cheek while you're at it..."

"Will do..."

While Paul assisted Perry at the bathroom sink, Della went back into the living room area and retrieved her garment bags to bring into the bedroom. When she finished hanging her wedding attire in the closet, Perry and Paul came out of the bathroom.

Perry staggered as he walked and only mumbled. "Is the party over? Should we stop and get something to eat? I could really use a glass of water... Where are the dancers?"

Paul got Perry seated on the edge of the bed so he could help Perry take his shoes off. With his legs bent over the edge of the bed, Perry laid back and pulled a pillow over his head. At that point, Della told Paul that she could take over from there.

"I think he's had it, Paul. As long as he's on the bed and his shoes are off, he'll find his way under the sheets."

"Let me at least get his shirt off. I think his tie is somewhere in the living room." He got Perry up in a sitting position on the bed. "Let's get your shirt off, Perry."

Della just shook her head again watching the two men fumble around trying to take Perry's shirt off. She tossed Perry's pajama bottoms to Paul. "Okay. You go ahead and finish. I'll be in the bathroom getting ready for bed."

A few minutes later, Paul announced that Perry was ready for bed. "He's all yours, Della. Goodnight!" He left the room closing the door behind him.

When Della emerged from the bathroom, she was wearing Perry's pajama top. Perry was laying on his back in bed under the covers snoring loudly. Della got into bed after turning out the lights. When she got comfortable under the covers, Perry stopped snoring and rolled over towards her on his side.

"Hi..." Perry put his arms around her and pulled her close. "Did you have a good time at Gigi's Boutique, baby?"

Della tilted her head back away from him, surprised that he was so coherent. "What's going on here? You're as sober as a judge!"

"Of course I am... You didn't answer my question. How was your night at Gigi's?"

Now Della raised up on her elbow. "But Paul told me they were serving you doubles! Was that just an act you were putting on out there?"

"I only wanted Paul and the boys to _think_ they were getting me all liquored up. I used every opportunity I could to dump some of those drinks." He chuckled. "I even poured one of my drinks into Paul's glass while he was engrossed with the Cancan dancers doing kicks over his head!"

"You men are so strange sometimes..."

"I just wanted Paul to think that he did a nice job with the bachelor party, that's all. He's my best friend. He really wanted to show us guys a good time."

"I should have known you were faking intoxication – you know – with the snoring bit. You _never_ snore!"

"I'll admit – that was a little bit too much. So tell me about Gigi's..."

"First you tell me how you know about Gigi's. That was top secret information!"

"That was easy to find out. When Paul mentioned to me that Julia was going to leave work early to go out with you girls, I made a trip downstairs to the gift shop."

"Are you saying that Julia told you about the plans?"

"No... But the gift shop manager did. I just casually asked the manager why Julia was leaving work so early and he told me that she was going to some fashion show at Gigi's Boutique with a group of girls... Knowing that, I was not too worried about your plans for the night."

"Oh, _you_! Always spying on me!"

"Not _always_ – just when I think it's important to know where you are! So tell me about Gigi's..."

Della paused sighing. "Well, we had a wonderful night. Turns out Gigi is a friend of Marie's. So Marie and Marilyn arranged an impromptu fashion show for me so we could choose outfits for the wedding ceremonies. We picked out my wedding attire while we feasted on appetizers and drank wine."

Perry adjusted the pillows on the bed under Della's head. "That was nice. If we were going to get married back home, I suppose you would have had a real bridal shower instead. I hope this was better..."

"It was really nice of the girls. I _did_ have a good time and a bridal shower isn't really something I would need if we were married back home."

"When will I see you in the _wedding attire_?"

"At the wedding of course! I have a nice cream-colored short blazer and matching skirt with suede pumps for the civil ceremony. And for the ceremony in the chapel, they chose a simple white silhouette silk gown with a bateau neckline."

"By your description, that sounds like very elegant attire..."

"And wait until you see what we chose for our wedding night..."

"Umm. I can imagine... I hope it's something that you can easily slip out of..." His soft hands were caressing her shoulders and back now.

"I think you'll like it. And I really liked the price – the girls all chipped in as a gift to us... I tried to argue with them, but they insisted..."

"Well, I can't wait to see your outfits." He kissed her forehead.

"Well, I can't wait until we're actually married..."

"Really?"

"Yes really... I love you, Perry. And like I've said before, this was really a good idea to get married in Paris. Of all your marriage proposals over the years, this one genuinely hit me in the heart."

"I'm just glad that you said ' _yes'_! You'll make me the happiest man on earth!"

Perry pulled her in closer and found her lips with his. After a long, passionate kiss Perry leaned up on one elbow.

"Are you glad that I'm not really drunk tonight?"

"I am..."

"Me, too..." He began kissing her neck and slowly began unbuttoning the pajama shirt that she was wearing.

She put her hand over his to stop him from unfastening the pajama top. "But if you were so sober, how do you explain the lipstick smudges on your cheeks?"

"I had to make a sacrifice somewhere. After all, I didn't want the guys to get suspicious..." He smiled and resumed unbuttoning the pajama top.

"Some sacrifice!" Della shifted her position on the bed which made Perry's task to undress her a lot easier.

Now he was kissing her bare shoulders as he continued to seduce her. "It's getting a little warm in here, don't you think?" His kisses moved to her exposed chest.

Yes! It's _very_ warm in here!"

Della giggled as he successfully removed her pajama top and tossed it onto the floor.

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By eight o'clock the next morning, Perry was already up and dressed waiting for room service to bring up coffee and croissants to the suite. Paul came out of his bedroom looking a little worn out.

"Good morning, Paul! Did you sleep well last night?"

Paul scratched his head and pulled out a cigarette from the pack on the coffee table. "I was out as soon as I hit the pillow... I should be asking _you_ how _you_ slept!"

"I slept like a baby!" Perry's thoughts drifted back momentarily to falling asleep with Della in his arms after passionately making love with her the night before. He smiled. "I had a great time last night, Paul... From what I remember about the night anyway! I have a room service order coming up shortly. I hope you're hungry."

"I'm always hungry this time of the day. Speaking of hungry, where's Della?"

"She's in the shower. She sure wishes you could be at her graduation ceremony today."

"I wish I could be there, too, but Captain Lavigne said that he could really use an extra man on the detail to hunt for LeMaire today. I'll be sure to give her my congratulations at dinner tonight. We _are_ still on for dinner tonight aren't we?"

"Absolutely. And it's my treat – sort of like a groom's dinner with just us three."

The knock on the door was from the room service attendant. Perry let the man in with the food cart and tipped the man before he left.

"Help yourself, Paul. There should be plenty."

Paul immediately went for the coffee and poured cups for himself and Perry. "Did you get any grief from Della about all of the feathers on your clothing and lipstick on your cheeks? And did she tell you where the girls were last night?"

"She's fine with everything last night. The girls had a fashion show with wine and food to choose attire for the wedding. It was a pretty tame night for them." Perry placed a warm croissant on a plate and sat down on the couch with his coffee and croissant.

Paul dug into the croissant pile. "Speaking of wedding attire..." He dipped the croissant in his coffee then bit into it before continuing. "For my last duty as your best man – uh, except for the wedding of course – we can pick up our tuxes either later this afternoon or first thing tomorrow morning. Which do you prefer?"

"We should probably do that before dinner tonight. I don't want to be rushing around tomorrow morning..."

Della came out of the bedroom still fussing with her hair. "Good morning, Paul. How do you feel this morning?"

Already chewing his second croissant, Paul swallowed some coffee before his reply. "I feel good. I was telling Perry that when I hit the pillow last night I was out like a light."

Della quickly glanced at Perry feeling satisfied that Paul was probably sound asleep in his bedroom while they were enjoying a night of bliss in their bedroom. "You two sure were a pair to watch last night getting Perry ready for bed. It's easier to take off a dress shirt when you take off the cuff links first, isn't it?" She handed Perry a pair of cuff links. "These were on the floor by the bed."

"I hope you didn't find them with your bare feet..." Perry placed them on the coffee table in front of them. "Would you like some coffee, Della?" He picked up the coffee pot to pour her a cup.

"Coffee would be nice, thank you..." Della looked over the food cart. "What else do we have this morning?"

"Croissants and coffee to start. I thought we'd stop at that small cafe by your art school for a more substantial breakfast before your graduation." Perry handed her a cup of coffee.

"That would be nice. But don't forget, we have a luncheon right after the graduation so I won't need a lot to eat. I want to be able to fit into my wedding clothes!" She sat on the couch next to Perry.

Perry gave her a kiss on the cheek. "You'll look just fine in your wedding attire tomorrow. And just so you know, Paul and I need to pick up our tuxes later this afternoon, so we'll do that before dinner tonight."

Della dunked a croissant in her coffee. "Well, I suppose our day is all planned then – my graduation after a short breakfast, the luncheon, a casual stroll along Champs-Elysees to the Arc de Triomphe and then picking up your tuxes before a nice dinner..."

Perry added, "Don't forget we need to pick up our rings from Monica's jewelry store..."

"Oh, that's right! How could I forget something that important? Let's stop there before we get to the art school."

"Should you be writing all of this down or will you just remember all of this with your efficient secretary-like mind?"

"I remind you, Mr. Mason, your secretary is on vacation – it's up to you to remember all of this!"

Paul gulped down the rest of his coffee. "I've heard enough! Looks like you two are all set for the day. I should get going. If, by chance, Captain Lavigne can spare me for an hour or so, where is your graduation?"

Della was happy that he might be able to go. "If the weather stays nice, it will be in the courtyard at the art school. If it looks like rain, there's a small auditorium inside where we'll be. There are only eight graduates for this ceremony, so it won't last long. I hope you can make it, Paul, but I understand if you'll be needed by Captain Lavigne..."

"I'll do my best, Beautiful!" Saying that, Paul was out the door.

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The _former_ Chief Inspector Henri LeMaire had been spending his days in local parks feeding pigeons and preying on unsuspecting tourists that were careless in handling the change they got back from various street vendors. Just crowding around someone buying food or a cheap souvenir and then casually bumping into them at the right moment netted LeMaire enough money on the ground or in his hands to at least keep himself fed. The only money he had on him when he found out that he was a wanted man lasted him only two days. Without money he could not afford much of anything and was forced to spend his nights on the streets sleeping on filthy doorsteps in the alleyways of Paris. His unkempt appearance and tattered raincoat became part of his disguise to keep him unrecognizable to the local beat cops.

In his plan to leave Paris by train for Brussels, he made a dry run through the train station checking out the cost of train fare. He managed to successfully test the watchful eyes of police officers with his grubby appearance and was not recognized. He then decided that when he could come up with enough money to buy the train ticket to Brussels, he would get out of the country to avoid arrest.

On this particular day, he was sitting on a park bench stewing over his dilemma wondering where it all began to unravel for him. He was thinking about that American tourist, Perry Mason, who was in Paris to get married. He thought back to the night he met Mason and his girlfriend Della Street. When he spied the local beat cop walking through the park rousting the people from feeding the pigeons, he decided it was time to move on. Thinking it over, he wondered if there were marriage banns posted in City Hall for this Mason/Street wedding. With a lot of time on his hands, he decided to walk over to City Hall.

As luck would have it, he saw the posted marriage banns document for Perry and Della. He took it down from the bulletin board and walked into the Bureau of Marriages office. In his normal confrontational manner, he rudely asked the clerk what day and time the marriage on the paper would take place. The clerk noted the names on the document and excused herself to walk away from the counter and look it up. Soon he was informed that the marriage would take place the next morning at ten o'clock. He left right away, confident that he would come up with enough money by the end of the day to buy his train ticket to Brussels. He would need to get out of town right away for what he was planning to do the next day at City Hall.

When the clerk saw that LeMaire left the office, she immediately got on the telephone to call the police.

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Perry was seated in the courtyard of the art school with approximately forty other guests waiting for the graduation ceremony for Della to begin. Paul tapped him on the shoulder.

"Is there room for one more?"

Perry glanced up at him and looked around at the four vacant chairs nearby. "I think we can fit one more in here... Glad you could make it!"

"Where's our girl?"

"Last I saw, they were assembling the graduates back behind the stage area." Perry was looking in the direction of the stage.

Paul stretched his neck to look behind the stage area which was decked out with flowers, ribbons, and veiled artwork placed on easels.

"I can see the tops of a few heads back there. What time is this supposed to start?"

Perry glanced at his watch. "Any moment now... So how did you get out of helping Captain Lavigne for this?"

"It was the weirdest thing. We were all staked out in the train depot – they figure LeMaire is going to try and get out of town by train. Well, apparently Lavigne got a call about a sighting of LeMaire somewhere else, so he pulled the detail for today."

Perry began to look around nervously. "Did they say _where_ they spotted him?"

"No. And I didn't ask. Lavigne told me he'd be in touch if they need me later, so I left – and just in time to get here!"

A moment later, the graduates were brought out onto the stage and seated facing the audience. Della was in the middle of the assembly so when she spotted Perry and Paul in the audience, she smiled and gave them a subtle wave. The emcee began the graduation program.

Right away Paul was frustrated. "Is this whole ceremony going to be in French?"

Perry motioned for Paul to be quiet. He replied in a quiet voice. "We're in France, Paul. Of course it's going to be in French... If you want, I'll translate."

"S'il vous plait, Monsieur!"

Perry leaned over towards Paul almost whispering now. "He's welcoming guests of the honored graduates... Each student will be honored individually for their best work of art..."

Paul wasn't very patient when he couldn't understand what was being said. "Do you think it's okay for me to smoke out here?"

Perry gave Paul an annoyed look. "Will you just sit back and behave for a while?"

Paul got the message and politely listened while Perry occasionally translated. The audience respectfully applauded the accomplishments of each graduate as their work was praised. When it was Della's turn for recognition, she smiled proudly as her charcoal sketch of the silhouettes of a man and a woman on a bridge over the Seine River facing the Eiffel Tower was unveiled. The emcee announced that it was chosen by the art school faculty as the best artwork by a short-term student.

While Della nodded her appreciation to the audience for the applause and sat down, Paul and Perry continued applauding vigorously. They had to stop as the emcee began to announce the achievements of the next graduate.

Paul leaned over to Perry. "I don't know what she was being commended for, but let me know before we meet with her after the ceremony so I don't look like a complete idiot when I congratulate her."

At the conclusion of the ceremony, Perry and Paul approached Della as all the guests were being ushered towards the luncheon area. Perry gave her a tight hug and long kiss until Paul tapped him on the shoulder so he could also honor the graduate.

Della thanked them for being there for her, and made an announcement. "The school is going to keep my sketch to display at the school for six months and then ship it to me in Los Angeles afterwards!"

Perry smiled. "I just _knew_ you'd be their top student!" He gave her another kiss. "I'm really proud of you, baby!"

Paul was equally pleased but added, "Nice work, Della. Now what's being served at this luncheon? I've worked up quite an appetite sitting out there in the audience!"

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The rest of their day went as planned and after their steak dinner, the trio returned to the hotel suite nearly exhausted. The hotel management had sent up a complimentary bottle of Dom Perignon champagne with a bowl of fresh strawberries that was waiting for them when they entered the suite. Paul picked up the note that was left with the gift. When he saw it was written in French he frowned and handed it over to Perry.

"Here – you can read French..."

Perry grinned and looked at the note. "It says, and I quote, Paul Drake is the best private detective in the world and is very deserving of this bottle of the best champagne in the world – unquote..."

Paul grunted. "Ha!"

Della laughed as both Perry and Paul loosened their ties to relax and enjoy the magnificent champagne. She wanted one of the men to open the bottle right away. "Let's get this opened _now_. This time, I want to make a toast."

While Perry got the glasses ready, Paul popped the cork and poured. They all raised their glasses for Della's toast.

"To the best friends a girl could ever want and to the best time spent with them in Paris."

They finished the champagne and strawberries by ten-thirty and Paul bid them goodnight to go to his bedroom. Perry and Della soon made their way to their bedroom. As they both got ready for bed they conversed about their day.

"It was so nice of the hotel to give us the champagne. That's not a cheap gift!" Della was standing in front of mirror in the bathroom removing her makeup.

"For the price we're paying for three weeks in a two-bedroom suite in this hotel, I think they can afford it." Perry pulled back the covers on the bed and waited for Della on the edge of the bed.

Della finished in the bathroom and shut off the lights. Once again, she was wearing Perry's pajama top to bed. "It really was a nice day." She gave Perry a kiss on his cheek and got into bed.

Perry laid down beside her and covered them both with the bed sheets. "Tomorrow will be a nice day. By the end of the day, we'll be married!"

Della snuggled in closer to him. "Suddenly I'm a little nervous..."

"Nervous? What are you nervous about?"

"Maybe nervous is the wrong word. It's not a _bad_ nervous feeling, it's a _good_ nervous feeling. Aren't you nervous at all?"

"I'm excited and can't wait for tomorrow to come. I've said this before, Della – you're going to make me the happiest man in the world tomorrow."

"Well, I'll be the happiest woman in the world tomorrow, too..." She paused for a moment. "I know we've both wanted this for a long time. I don't want your reputation to suffer at all once the tabloids find out that you've married your _secretary_..."

"The tabloids over here in France couldn't care less about us. And I really don't care what they print back in the States. If it goes too far, I'll sue them." He kissed her on the lips. "And I'm not just marrying a _secretary_. I'm marrying the most wonderful woman in the world that I enjoy working with and spending all my free time with."

"I don't want this to change our relationship at all. I mean, wives are supposed to stay home and have babies nowadays. And since my hysterectomy I can't give you children."

Perry shushed her. "We've discussed this before. You are the love of my life and I know it sounds selfish, but I want _you_ more than I want a child. If we get to a point where we want a child, we can always adopt. We've both agreed that our lifestyle as it is right now has no room for raising a child. If that changes, we'll talk about it."

Della placed her hands on his face and drew him closer for a kiss. "I love you, Perry."

He kissed her back. "I love you, too, Della. Now let's get some sleep. We have a long day ahead of us tomorrow."

"You're right. Goodnight."

"Sweet dreams, baby."

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By morning, they were all busy packing up to leave the suite. Between bites of another room service breakfast and getting dressed for the wedding in City Hall, they were all making sure that everything was going according to Della's checklist.

Paul adjusted his bow tie while looking in a mirror by the door.

"I think I'm ready. I'll take my bags downstairs. I'll be down in the gift shop when you're ready to go..."

Dressed in his wedding day tuxedo, Perry was in the living room closing a suitcase. "Okay, Paul. We'll be down in about ten minutes..."

Della came out of the bedroom dressed in her suit for the City Hall wedding carrying a small cosmetics case. "Is the bellhop coming up for our bags?"

"Yes. They should be here any minute now."

She was going over a checklist in her mind. "Okay, the bags are taken care of... I'll carry my gown down separately... Is the rental car ready at the hotel entrance?"

"Check..." Perry was sipping a cup of coffee.

Della bit into a croissant. "I hope it's the Mercedes like we rented to go to Bordeaux..."

"Check..."

"Did you check us out of the hotel?"

"Check..."

"The important things are in my purse – the passports, the envelope with the certificate of marriage... I just know I'm forgetting something..." She was posed with a hand on her hip looking around the room. "Oh – I know! The rings! Do you have the rings?"

"Check..." He patted the outside of his pants pocket. "They're right here in my pants pocket." Perry walked over to her to take her in his arms. He embraced her and lightly kissed her lips. "I think we're ready, babe. Let's get out of here and get to City Hall." He took a small step back away from her to look her up and down. "And may I also say that, as usual, you look wonderful this morning?"

"And you are so handsome in that tux! How can anyone resist you?" She moved her hands up around the back of his neck and brought his head down for another kiss.

The knock on the door broke up their ardent kiss. Perry went to the door to let in the bellhop.

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Henri LeMaire rolled out of his sleeping space on a door step near the _Gare du Nord_ train depot when the business owner poked him awake with a broom. The business owner cursed him as LeMaire walked away down the alley.

LeMaire washed up in a public bathroom in the train depot and looked himself over in a mirror. He was confident that he would not be recognized as a wanted man as he adjusted the brim of his hat and walked out of the bathroom towards the ticket counter.

The ticket agent handed him his train ticket to Brussels after LeMaire counted out enough money for the fare. LeMaire chuckled to himself as he walked away from the ticket counter and looked over the details of the ticket. His train would leave for Brussels on platform number eight at exactly eleven o'clock. He would have plenty of time to disrupt a ten o'clock marriage ceremony in City Hall and then get back there to board a train to freedom in Brussels. He counted the money left in his pocket. There was still plenty for a taxi ride to and from City Hall from the train depot with a little left over to use in Brussels.

The last thing he checked was the stolen passport in his pocket. He grinned again when he read the name and saw his resemblance in the photo. _Pierre Nusseau_. Not a bad name for the identity he would use for the rest of his life.

 **TBC**

All comments and reviews are appreciated. Thank you for reading!


	14. Chapter 14

**Chapter Fourteen**

At nine-thirty on the morning of his wedding day, Perry drove the Mercedes rental car up to the curb in front of City Hall. Paul was in the front seat looking around for his local contact when the car came to a stop.

"There he is, Perry. Straight ahead!"

Perry drove a little further along the curb and stopped alongside Paul's contact. Paul got out of the car right away to greet him.

"Thanks for being here. We'll leave the car with you." Paul handed the man some cash. "Just keep a good eye on it and park it nearby if you can. All of our luggage is in here, so please don't leave it unattended. We've been victimized enough in Paris so we're not taking any chances today."

Perry helped Della out of the back seat and they stood on the curb. Della saw Marilyn and George approaching them. "Good morning! Did you have any trouble getting here?"

"Not at all. George knew right where to go. We even found a parking spot a short distance away from here!"

While Perry and Paul gave last minute instructions to Paul's contact, Della explained to Marilyn and George about their car.

"Perry wanted someone to remain with our car since we've already checked out of the hotel and all of our belongings are in the car now. Paul asked one of his contacts to take the car and park it somewhere nearby." She lowered the sound of her voice so Perry wouldn't hear her. "He's worried that the car will either be broken into or stolen while we're in City Hall."

Perry walked up behind Della. "I heard that. And yes I am worried about our car. I'm also anxious to leave the ceremony, hop in the car and get to the chapel." He turned to Marilyn and George. "Good morning. Are you two ready for this?"

George laughed. "The question is, are _you_ two ready for this?"

Perry put his arm around Della and pulled her close. "I think we are, aren't we Della?"

Della nodded. "We are!" She nervously giggled.

Paul joined the group as the rental car was driven away. "He'll be nearby and will pick us up at ten-thirty. I hope your ceremony is on time."

Perry tucked Della's hand into his arm. "Well, let's get inside so we're not late to say, 'I do'!"

"Not, 'I do', Perry. Remember the pamphlet I read to you? We'll be answering the questions with either a yes or a no..."

Perry put his hand over hers on his arm and gently squeezed her hand. "You mean _oui_ and _non_... And I better not hear you say _non_!"

From the written directions they received from the Bureau of Marriages, they found the check in area for their ceremony twenty minutes early. A female clerk met them right away and brought their paperwork out of a file.

"I apologize that my English is not so good. But I will get you ready for your ceremony. Today our marriages are being performed by the _mairie_ _adjoint_. You should know the ceremony is all in French, oui?"

Perry nodded. "Yes, uh, oui, we understand. We know enough French – I hope."

"Would you like someone to translate the ceremony to be certain? This is a legal procedure after all."

Perry looked to Della who shook her head. He turned back to the clerk. "That won't be necessary, thank you. We've looked over the pamphlet that explains the ceremony and I think we'll get by. We would like to modify one part of the ceremony, though."

"Show me what part you want to adjust."

Perry presented the pamphlet and pointed to a portion after their vows. "We would like to exchange rings at this part. And we'll do that in English if you don't have an objection."

"No objection, Monsieur. We get modifications to the ceremony all the time. Anything else?"

"No. That's all. I think we're ready if you are..."

"Oui, Monsieur. Just follow me to the room for the ceremony, s'il vous plait."

The entourage followed Perry and Della down the hallway and they stopped outside of the room with a sign on the door.

Della smiled nervously and read the sign out loud. " _Salle de mariage_... The wedding room..."

The clerk asked them to wait in the hallway. "We are a little early. You are the first couple of the day. I must see that the room is ready. Any questions?"

Perry shook his head. "No questions."

Paul got the clerk to pause before she walked into the room. "I have a question. How will I know what I'm supposed to do and when to do it if this is all in French?"

Perry waved the clerk away. "You go ahead and do what you need to do. I'll take care of my best man..."

The clerk smiled but before she entered the room, she had one more bit of information. "You can expect a flower vendor shortly. It is an option if you would like a bridal bouquet, corsages, or boutonnieres." She walked in the room and closed the door behind her.

As if almost on cue, a woman rolled a cart of fresh flowers down the hallway and stopped next to the group.

"Fleurs? Bouquet? Corsage? Boutonnieres?"

Paul stepped up right away. "Here is something I can do! If you'd like flowers, as best man, why don't you let me buy them?" He looked over the floral display and read the price list then turned back to Perry and Della. "Of course this is payable in Francs. Can you loan me some, Perry? I've already exchanged my Francs back for dollars..."

"I can take care of this, Paul." Perry looked to Della. "I'll let you and Marilyn figure out this part. I only know orchids and I don't see any of those on this cart." He turned back to Paul. "I have a better job for you, _best man_!"

Perry pulled Paul away from the group to give him instructions. The girls began looking over the flowers. George got his camera ready for photos. And Henri LeMaire entered the first floor of City Hall in search of _Salle de mariage_.

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"The rings are not normally part of the civil ceremony but I notified the clerk that we will add the ring exchange." Perry was explaining to Paul what he wanted to do for the ceremony and he showed him the ceremony pamphlet. "It's at this point in the ceremony that we will do the rings." He handed Paul the rings. "I will give Della her ring first, then she will give me a ring right after that. Got it?"

"Got it!"

Perry put his hand on Paul's shoulder. "It means a lot to us that you're here to witness the wedding and I'm glad that you're my best man."

Paul playfully punched Perry's arm. "I'm glad to be here! Let's get this over with!"

They joined the rest of the group at the flower cart. Della opted for a small bridal bouquet and they added boutonnières for Perry and Paul. Della was pinning a small corsage on Marilyn's dress as Perry and Paul walked up.

Della held out the boutonnières for Perry and Paul. "Let's get these pinned on you two and we'll be ready to go." When she finished pinning them on, the clerk emerged from the wedding room.

"Monsieur Mason? We are ready for the ceremony to begin."

Perry winked at Della and she smiled back up at him. He held his hand out for her. "Are you ready?"

"I am..."

Arm in arm they walked into the _salle de mariage_ as Paul, Marilyn, and George followed them inside.

Knowing that all marriages in city hall are open to the public, Henri LeMaire walked down the hallway towards the room for the marriage ceremony.

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The marriage clerk led the group towards the front of the room. After Della and Marilyn placed their purses on a table off to the side, they were all ushered into their places and waited for the _mairie adjoint_ to enter the room. George stood off to the side with the marriage clerk to be ready to take photographs throughout the ceremony.

At precisely ten o'clock, the official came into the room carrying a book of civil marriage laws – a red, white, and blue sash draped diagonally across his chest. He introduced himself right away.

"Bonjour. Je suis _Jacques Berger_ , adjoint mairie."

Perry and Della exchanged glances and smiled at the official's name.

Berger stood in front of them and began the ceremony. Smiling at the group he asked for the names of the bride and groom.

"Des noms futurs époux?"

Perry was first to reply followed by Della.

"Perry Mason."

"Della Street."

Berger nodded and continued asking formally if they are free to marry.

Perry and Della replied at the same time. "Oui."

Continuing, the official asked for the names of the witnesses.

"S'il vous plait, le nom de vos témoins?"

Marilyn replied right away stating her name. Paul was silent until Perry gave him a nudge and whispered to him. "Tell him your name."

Berger smiled patiently as Paul nodded and finally stated, "Uh, Paul Drake."

The ceremony continued as Berger began his oration proclaiming how important it is for spouses to respect each other, remain faithful to each other, and care for each other for life. He concluded by asking if they are willing to abide by the proclamation.

Perry and Della glanced at each other and responded at the same time. "Oui."

Berger nodded at the couple and moved on to reading the Civil Code according to law. At the conclusion of that, he began the exchange of consents to enter into a civil marriage.

"Madame Della Street? Consentez vous a prendre pour époux Monsieur Perry Mason?"

Della looked up to Perry and by stating, "Oui", she consented to be Perry's spouse.

Berger turned to Perry. "Monsieur Perry Mason? Consentez vous a prendre pour épouse Madame Della Street ici présente?"

Perry gave Della a quick wink before replying, "Oui", thereby consenting to be Della's husband.

As Berger was about to tell Perry that he would now allow the exchange of rings, there was a commotion outside of the room in the hallway. A man was out in the hallway cursing loudly in French. They all turned towards the door, but as fast as the disturbance began, it was over right away. Berger nodded to Perry to continue.

Della handed her bouquet to Marilyn to hold. Perry turned to Paul who was standing at his side, just smiling and staring straight ahead. Perry gave Paul a nudge and in a low, quiet voice, Perry leaned towards Paul and got his attention.

"The rings, Paul..."

Paul snapped out of his trance and reached into his pocket to give Perry a ring.

After taking the ring from Paul, Perry turned to Della smiling.

"Della, this ring is a symbol of my love and faithfulness to you. By giving you this ring, I promise to worship you and cherish you for the rest of my life."

As they had discussed ahead of time, Della held out her right hand for Perry and he placed the ring on her pinky finger.

Now Della turned to Paul and he handed her the ring to give to Perry. She reached for Perry's left hand and held the ring in her hand.

Teary-eyed and smiling, Della began her speech.

"Perry, this ring is a symbol of my never-ending love for you. I am completely devoted to you and intend to faithfully remain at your side for the rest of my life." She placed the ring on his left pinky finger.

They joined hands with Della's right hand in Perry's left hand – their rings now intermingled against each other. As they turned back to the mairie adjoint, Perry nodded for him to continue.

The ceremony concluded when Berger winked at the couple and he proclaimed in English, "In the name of the law, I declare Mister Perry Mason and Madame Della Street united by marriage. You may kiss the bride!"

Perry firmly embraced Della as she brought her hands up around his neck. Their lips met for a very enthusiastic kiss as Paul and Marilyn applauded and George captured the moment on film. When their lips parted, Perry and Della held hands again, the rings on their pinky fingers interlaced as they raised their hands and turned to face their witnesses.

George told them to wait before they could walk away and asked Berger to pose with the newlyweds. After the photo was taken, Berger directed them to a side table for signing their official certificate of marriage and hand them their family register booklet.

Within five minutes, the newlyweds and their entourage walked out of the room headed out of city hall.

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Outside of city hall walking to where their car should be, Perry spotted Captain Lavigne walking on the plaza.

"Captain Lavigne! Bonjour!"

Lavigne was walking from a nearby police car and stopped. "Bonjour, Perry." He nodded to Della and Paul and greeted them next. "Bonjour! So is today the big day?"

Perry was grinning ear to ear. "It is! We just had our civil ceremony and we're heading to a small chapel in _Chapel_ _Expiatoire_ for our next ceremony at noon. If you're not too busy, why don't you come for the ceremony? There will be a small reception afterwards. Bring your team if they're available!"

Lavigne thought it over. "Noon, hmm? At Chapel Expiatoire? That's a pretty big place."

"We met with a minister that informed us that there is a remodeling project going on, so we'll be married in a smaller chapel within. We'd be honored to have you and your team there."

"Okay. I'll try to make it. I have some business to attend to here first and if I finish in time, I'll head that way."

"Great! We won't hold you up any longer then so you can take care of business. I hope we'll see you later!"

The group turned towards the street and watched as Perry's rental car was driven up to the curb nearby. It was decorated with crepe paper streamers on the front and had a train of tin cans tied to the back bumper. The back window had "Just married" written with white shoe polish in big bold letters.

Paul looked proudly at the newlyweds and explained. "You didn't think that I could just let my man sit in a parked car nearby and not ask him to have it decorated?"

Perry and Della laughed while Marilyn spoke up.

"And there's another surprise in store for you. We have plenty of time to get to the chapel, so Paul will drive you over to our hotel for a short champagne toast. And Della, you can change into your bridal gown at the hotel instead of the chapel. After champagne, George and I will drive you to the chapel and Paul will drive you there, Perry."

Perry and Della nodded their approval. Marilyn got them in motion.

"No use waiting around here – let's go!"

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Captain Lavigne entered the city hall building and walked to a security office on the first floor. He was greeted right away by a building security officer and beat cop from the area. Lavigne was led to a holding room to see if he could positively identify a man they had in custody.

They explained that this man matched the description of an arrest bulletin, but had a passport identifying himself as someone not named on the arrest bulletin. Lavigne was shown the passport and he studied the photo on the document. He asked to see the man face to face.

The man in the holding cell was seated in a chair facing the wall, the brim of his hat pulled down over his eyes. His hands were secured behind his back with handcuffs. As Lavigne entered the cell to remove the hat and look at the man's face, the prisoner tried to pull away. The hat came off and Lavigne shook his head.

"Vous êtes un _imbécile_ , Henri LeMaire!"

At that time, Officers Beauchamp and Bautiste came into the holding cell and took a good look at the disheveled former Chief Inspector. They both agreed with Captain Lavigne – LeMaire was a fool.

Lavigne left the cell to make notifications to the Federal authorities who were willing to take custody of LeMaire. As Lavigne, Beauchamp and Bautiste looked over the things taken from LeMaire, they knew they were lucky to have found him before he could flee the country and possibly continue his criminal ways in Belgium.

While waiting to release LeMaire to the Federal Police, Lavigne suggested that after LeMaire is taken care of, they should all attend a wedding at _Chapel_ _Expiatoire._

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The champagne was on ice and waiting in Marilyn and George's hotel suite when the group arrived. Paul insisted on opening the champagne while Marilyn left the room to retrieve a small gift for Perry and Della from her bedroom. She walked back into the living room area of the suite and presented the box to Della.

"On behalf of your maid-of-honor and her husband, we'd like you to open your first wedding gift."

Perry and Della looked at each other surprised at the gesture. While Della held the gift box, Perry thanked them.

"Gifts are really not necessary, but thank you! Go ahead and open it, Della." He moved to her side to watch her open the box.

Della unwrapped the box and brought out two engraved champagne glasses. She read the inscription out loud as they all admired the glasses.

"Perry and Della. Paris, France. April 28, 1960." She passed the glasses to Perry for a closer look. "They're just beautiful. What a thoughtful gift!" She gave Marilyn a hug and then kissed George on the cheek. "Thank you!"

Paul popped the cork on the bottle of champagne. "Let's get them filled up!"

George brought over three more champagne glasses and after they were all filled, there was a toast by Perry.

"To good friends as witnesses to the start of a beautiful marriage!"

There were smiles all around as they clinked their glasses together.

While sipping the champagne, Marilyn wanted to discuss the unusual ring exchange at the civil ceremony.

"Okay you two. What's the reason for pinky rings instead of placing rings on the traditional ring finger?"

Perry and Della smiled at each other and Della began to explain.

"It's simple, really. Perry and I normally sit next to each other in the office. I'm off to his left side so obviously Perry is to my right. So my right hand is next to his left hand. We've always worn our rings that way. Why change it just for a wedding?"

Perry added to the explanation. "Think about it. When a couple holds hands like we do, I've usually got her right hand in my left hand as we walk. And don't forget dancing. We love dancing together and I always have her right hand in my left hand. Our rings are mingled in all of our favorite situations!" Perry smiled at the group pleased with the explanation.

"That makes a lot of sense. Wedding traditions are being modified all the time! Well, it was a beautiful ceremony and I'm glad that you could add your ring exchange in the ceremony." Marilyn looked at her watch. "We better drink up, folks. I need to do my duties and get the bride dressed for the chapel. I think it's time for the groom and his best man to get to the chapel and make sure it's ready for the bride to walk down the aisle."

Perry finished his glass of champagne. "Speaking of the walk down the aisle, Della and I talked this over already, but we just haven't asked this yet. George, would you do us the favor of walking Della down the aisle?"

George grinned. "I'd be honored to!"

"It's all settled then!" Marilyn began to shoo Perry and Paul away. "Paul, get the groom to the chapel. After I get Della into her gown, George will get us to the chapel. We better get a move on it – it's a quarter after eleven!"

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When Della arrived at the chapel with Marilyn and George, the guests were casually mingling outside of the entryway of the tiny chapel. Perry and Paul were nowhere to be seen. Marilyn told Della to stay in the car so she could find out why everyone was standing outside.

Marie met Marilyn halfway to the chapel entrance. "Is the bride ready to walk in? This is so exciting!"

Marilyn glanced at her watch. "We still have about five minutes. Where is Perry?"

"He and Paul found the minister around the corner a few minutes ago. They are going inside to open the doors. We thought we had the wrong area of the chapel at first because these doors are locked."

As Marie finished her sentence, Paul opened the doors to the chapel and invited everyone inside. Marilyn stood with Paul in the doorway.

"Are we ready to bring Della inside? What was the confusion about the doors?"

Paul took the time to light a smoke. "When we got here, these doors were locked and we couldn't find the minister. All we found was a few construction workers on their lunch break. Guests began arriving and we told them to wait here. We finally found the minister walking up the sidewalk by a side door. He asked us to wait by that side door, and walked back along the sidewalk. A few minutes later he let us inside that side door. Perry was in a room next to the altar with the minister going over the ceremony details."

Marilyn took a peek inside the door to see the layout of the chapel as the guests all took seats inside. "I don't see Perry yet. I hope he hasn't run out on us. Shouldn't you be with him to make sure he's still here?" Marilyn smiled when she saw the surprised look on Paul's face.

"I can tell that you and Della have been friends since childhood – same sense of humor!" Paul stepped on his cigarette butt on the ground. "I'll get Perry set up at the altar. You and George should get the bride ready to walk down the aisle."

"Give us just a few minutes. When you see me back by the entryway, give me a nod if you're ready to go."

George escorted Della out of the car and together they walked in through the doors where Marilyn was waiting in the hallway outside of the chapel. Marilyn stood back and looked over the bride.

"I hope Perry won't fall over when he sees you in this dress!" Smiling, Marilyn adjusted the diamond solitaire necklace resting on Della's neckline.

"I hope that I don't fall over when I finally look up into his big blue eyes and recite my vows!" Della blinked her eyes to keep tears of joy from falling down her cheeks.

Marilyn reached up with a tissue to Della's face and gently wiped away a tear. She adjusted the birdcage veil covering Della's forehead. "You're a beautiful bride, Della. Let's get this ceremony started!" After checking the bridal bouquet one last time, she gave Della a hug and turned to walk into the chapel. Pausing at the entry to the chapel she waited for Paul's signal. Paul was standing next to Perry at the altar in front of the minister and nodded to Marilyn. She turned back to Della and George giving a wink signaling the start of her walk down the aisle.

When Paul saw Marilyn at the chapel doors, he cued Julia at the church organ and she began playing ' _Canon in D'_ for Marilyn's walk to the altar. The guests – seated on both sides of the aisle, stood and turned to watch as the procession began.

When George saw that Marilyn was stopped at the altar and turned to face them, he held out his arm for Della to hold as Julia started to play ' _The Bridal March_ '. Perry anxiously stood at the altar next to Paul stretching his neck to catch a glimpse of Della's first steps down the aisle.

George paused briefly at the entry doors to the chapel for Della to take in the scene in front of her. She smiled adoringly at her friends facing her, anxiously waiting for her to begin her stroll to the altar. On the left side of the aisle, Marie Claudet stood next to Jimmy Meacham, who had a camera pointed at Della ready for taking a photo. In front of them were Marie's parents. On the right side of the aisle she saw Vincent and Monique with Monica and her husband behind them. Marilyn stood waiting at the altar, her small bouquet of flowers clutched with her hands in front of her. Paul stood to the left side of Perry, both men looking relaxed with their hands resting at their sides. She took in a deep breath and then slowly exhaled as she began her eager walk towards Perry – the love of her life.

Perry was all smiles as he watched his beautiful girl moving towards him at the altar. His heart was beating wildly in his chest as Della gracefully walked towards him on George's arm. His mind was in slow motion, but in real time, Della was at the altar joining hands with Perry before the opening verse in the song was finished.

Gazing into each other's eyes, they each exchanged amorous winks then turned towards the minister as he began the ceremony gesturing for the guests to be seated.

"We gather here today in this house of worship under the authority of God to unite this couple in marriage. The bride and groom welcome all of you as witnesses to this event on this very special day..." He had a very thick French accent in his speech.

After a brief pause, the minister raised his _left_ hand above his head and continued. "We begin in the name of the Father..." His hand then lowered across his chest to his right shoulder. "The Holy Spirit..." Then moving his hand back across his chest to his left shoulder, he finished. "Amen."

Perry and Della completed a proper sign-of-the-cross gesture and looked at each other confused at the minister's erroneous blessing. The minister realized his mistake too late, but continued with the ceremony.

"On this day in front of God and these witnesses, this couple will commit their lives to each other in good times and bad times for as long as they live..." He paused seeming a little flustered, but looked right at Perry. "Please say, 'I do'."

Perry and Della looked at each other again, still confused at what the minister was saying, but Perry replied anyway. "I do."

Turning to Della, the minister continued. "Do you commit to this man whether he is sick or well for the rest of your life?"

Della raised an eyebrow with a puzzled look on her face but replied. "I do."

The minister raised both his hands. "You are now man and wife... Our ceremony is concluded... You may kiss the bride..." He brought his hands down together in front of him.

Perry cleared his throat, leaned forward, and spoke quietly to the minister.

"Uh, we have vows we would like to recite to one another before this service is finished..."

The minister nodded and quietly replied back to Perry. "Yes, of course... My mistake." He looked out over the witnesses. "They will now say their vows."

Perry turned to Della right away and gently held her right hand in his left hand, once again their pinky rings bound together. "I take you, Della, to be my wife... To have and to hold from this day forward... Before these friends as witnesses, I vow to care for you for as long as we both shall live... I will love you and honor you all the days of my life..." He lifted her hand to his lips and kissed her pinky ring.

Della slowly turned to Marilyn and handed her bridal bouquet to her to hold. She gathered both of Perry's hands in hers and began to recite her vows.

"I take you, Perry, to be my husband. This is my solemn vow: before our friends as witnesses, I vow to be faithful to you, to respect you, to care for you, to honor you, and to love you for the rest of my life..."

She released his hands after a gentle squeeze and turned back to the minister indicating to him that she was finished reciting her vows.

The minister brought his hands back together under his chin and paused. He looked out over the guests and noticed that three men were now walking in the back of the chapel. When he recognized Officers Beauchamp and Bautiste, he tried to hide the shocked look on his face. He quickly continued with the ceremony trying to bring it to a close right away.

"By the power vested in me, the bride and groom are now united in marriage as husband and wife. You may kiss the bride..."

Still bewildered by the minister's unusual order of the ceremony, Perry turned to Della and shrugged his shoulders while reaching out to embrace her. He put his arms around her as she leaned into him and brought her hands up around his neck. Their lips met in a very passionate kiss followed by a few more gentle nibbles before they separated and smiled at each other.

Perry put his arm around Della's shoulder as they slowly turned back to their guests and bowed. Paul cued Julia and she began playing Mendelssohn's ' _Wedding March_ ' on the organ. Perry smiled down at Della and held out his right arm for her. She tucked her left hand into his elbow before they began to walk down the aisle to the back of the chapel.

Paul and Marilyn followed them as George backed his way down the aisle in front of everyone taking pictures along the way. After the minister left the altar to follow the procession, the guests fell in behind to walk out of the chapel.

The small group gave Perry and Della their congratulations with hugs, handshakes, and kisses at the back of the chapel. After Vincent announced that everyone was invited to the wedding reception at a nearby restaurant, they began preparing to leave the chapel.

Perry noticed the minister standing off to the side looking around nervously. He excused himself from the group to approach the minister about paying for his services and getting signatures on the marriage certificate.

"It was a rather unusual service, but let's finish the paperwork so we can settle up. And of course, you're invited to join us for the reception."

The minister kept a watchful eye on Beauchamp, Bautiste, and Captain Lavigne who stood off to the side near the doors looking back at the minister talking amongst themselves. Della walked over to Perry's side and the minister ushered them back inside the chapel doors to discuss payment.

"A marriage document from me will not be necessary since you already have one from the civil ceremony. And you can pay me one thousand Francs – cash preferred but I will take a check." The minister continued watching the policemen by the outer doors.

Perry questioned him about the marriage document as he took out his checkbook from the pocket inside his tux. "We would prefer that this ceremony have some sort of documentation for it to go along with our civil ceremony. Can we go back to your office and write something out?"

The minister suddenly tried to back away from Perry and Della when he saw Captain Lavigne approaching them. "Uh, just give me one hundred Francs cash and I'll mail you a certificate..."

Before Perry could reply, Captain Lavigne stood with them and spoke to the minister. "Bonjour, _Louvel_." Lavigne put his hand on Perry's arm to stop him for transacting any payment to the minister.

As the minister sighed and drooped his shoulders, Lavigne spoke to Perry. "I have some good news and some bad news for you Mr. Mason. Which would you like to hear first?"

 **TBC**

Thanks for staying with the story! The final chapter is coming up soon. As usual, all comments or reviews are welcome.


	15. Chapter 15

**Chapter Fifteen**

In a hallway outside of the chapel, Officers Beauchamp and Bautiste stood on each side of the minister while Captain Lavigne spoke to Perry and Della. Perry stood with an arm around Della and was concerned with Captain Lavigne's question. "I don't understand, Captain. Good news and bad news about _what_?"

Lavigne was frowning, but decided to give Perry and Della his good news first. "Perhaps this good news no longer concerns you, but the former Chief Inspector Henri LeMaire is officially behind bars – in custody with Federal authorities on numerous charges of theft, fraud, abuse of authority and many other things. I just thought that the news of LeMaire's arrest would be comforting to you on your wedding day."

Perry pulled Della closer and gently squeezed her shoulder as they smiled at each other over the news. "I'm glad that you finally caught him, Captain... But I get the feeling that the bad news concerns Della and me directly..."

Lavigne looked at the minister. "Do you want to tell them or shall I, _Louvel_?"

The minister looked down at the floor and shrugged his shoulders. "I was only trying to make some easy money, Captain Lavigne..."

"So what _is_ the bad news?" Perry looked back and forth between Lavigne and the minister.

Lavigne reached over to the minister and removed the clerical collar that he wore. "Let me introduce you to Louvel Kopet, one of our local con men who today is disguised as a minister."

Della looked up to Perry and Perry just shook his head. "Once again, Della, I believe we've been had!"

"My apologies to you, Perry and Della." Lavigne was still frowning and turned to glare at Louvel. "You almost got away with this one. You put a lot of work into this scheme. How many other fraudulent marriages have you performed lately?"

"This is the only one – today..." Louvel seemed remorseful.

Trying to defend the good people of France, Lavigne tried to console Perry and Della. "Not all of the citizens of France are out to make money off of tourists by dishonest means... If you give me another day or two, I can arrange for a legitimate member of the clergy to perform a marriage ceremony for you."

"That won't be necessary," Perry replied as he looked to Della. "We need to return to Los Angeles in a few days. At least we had an official ceremony in city hall. But thank you for the offer!"

Lavigne needed to know more about how Louvel set up the fake marriage scheme. "Before you go to jail, just tell me this: how did you arrange to use this chapel?"

Louvel answered with a sheepish reply. "With the remodeling work going on here, I knew this chapel was not in use. So I look for couples that want to marry in city hall and talk them into a wedding here. When they come here, I simply break in a side window, unlock the doors and let everyone in while the workers are on their lunch break." He turned to Perry and Della. "I am sorry. I think you knew that something was really wrong with the order of the ceremony. You see, today I forgot my wedding book so I tried to remember the proper procedure. Obviously I failed miserably..."

Lavigne nodded to Beauchamp and Bautiste. "Take him away. The local beat officers should have been notified that we were going to make an arrest. They will drive him to jail for us."

Paul walked into the church through the outer doors as Louvel was being led away. He glanced back at Louvel as he continued walking over to Perry, Della and Lavigne.

"What's the hold up? I'm starving and your guests are all waiting for the bride and groom at the restaurant around the corner from here."

Perry just grinned. "It's a long story, Paul..." He looked back to Lavigne. "Captain, in spite of this situation, we're still going to go over to the reception at the restaurant and we'd love to have you and your men join us."

Paul looked back and forth to Perry and Lavigne. "What situation? And why is the minister being escorted out of here by Beauchamp and Bautiste?"

Lavigne stepped away. "I will let you explain it to Paul, Mr. Mason. I will talk to the men outside and we'd love to join you in celebration of your marriage. We'll see you later at the restaurant!"

"Thank you, Captain..." Perry turned to Paul as Lavigne walked away. "Apparently our _minister_ is not really a _minister_ after all! We've been conned again." Perry continued until Paul heard the whole story.

Paul suggested that they head over to the restaurant and he offered to make an announcement there about the phony marriage ceremony. "I'll just continue with my duties as best man and break it to your guests as gently as I can..."

Perry took Della's left hand and tucked it securely into his right elbow to begin walking away. "I can hardly wait to hear how Paul Drake will gently break _this_ news to our friends..."

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Before Perry and Della walked into the restaurant for the reception, Paul eloquently began announcing to the wedding guests that their chapel ceremony was not completely legitimate. Their friends listened quietly as Paul continued to explain.

"Even though the minister was a fraud, their spoken _vows_ were genuine. They recited them from the heart and they are satisfied that you, as friends, were there to hear them. Perry and Della's civil ceremony earlier in the day was completely legal, so when they get here in a few minutes, let's celebrate!"

Out of sight from the wedding guests and Paul, Perry and Della had stopped in the entryway to the restaurant and heard Paul's speech before they entered the reception area. When the wedding guests saw Perry and Della walking into the room arm-in-arm, they immediately began applauding. Perry and Della stood still and nodded their gratitude to their friends.

Vincent stepped up and got everyone's attention when the applause died down. He asked for Perry and Della to stand with him at the front of the room. After ensuring that all of the guests had glasses of wine to sip, he asked the guests to raise their glasses to honor the newlyweds.

"Despite all of the troubles you have had here during your visit, we are pleased that you chose to be married in France. Now I would like to present you with a traditional French wedding gift." Vincent lifted up a silver two-handled cup filled with red wine. After adding a small piece of french toast to the cup, he presented it to them. "For the bride and groom's first toast, a drink from the _Coupe de_ _Mariage_ – complete with a morsel of french toast for a good, healthy life ahead!"

As Perry and Della drank from the ceremonial cup, their friends all tipped their glasses together and sipped the wine in their honor.

After the toast, Captain Lavigne, Beauchamp and Bautiste came into the restaurant. The waitstaff immediately provided them with wine glasses as Perry took the opportunity to introduce them.

"These men are just a few of the fine police officers honorably serving the citizens and tourists in Paris. I propose another toast to them and their efforts to bring one of their own to justice for crimes against the good citizens and visitors of France!"

They all raised their glasses and tapped them together again in celebration.

After the toast, Vincent continued. "Nice work, officers! Now let's eat – I mean that's the real reason for a wedding reception, oui? As you might already know, this restaurant is run by students from my cooking school and they've prepared a feast of appetizers for everyone to enjoy!" He looked to Perry and Della. "Please come to the buffet serving line and enjoy your wedding day luncheon." He pointed to the delicacies as he walked Perry and Della to the buffet line. "We have Salade Nicoise, cognac shrimp with beurre sauce, fig and olive tapenade, escargot mushrooms, mini spinach quiches, and finally, mini smoked salmon croque-monsieur. Enjoy!"

For over the next hour there was good food, more wine, laughter, and shared friendship with all of the wedding guests. Then, with great fanfare, the restaurant lights dimmed and Vincent stood to announce, "Le Gateau!"

As the pâtissière brought in his _Croquembouche_ – the French wedding cake, the waitstaff lit flaming sparklers and swirled them in the air to the delight of the guests. Perry and Della were the first to be served.

Perry enjoyed the first bite of his creme-filled puff pastry and quietly mentioned to Della, "This is much better than any traditional wedding cake where the bride and groom stuff large pieces of gooey cake in each other's face to the amusement of their friends."

Della swallowed her first bite and leaned in to Perry. "I loved all of the pageantry when the pastry chef presented the cake – with the fireworks and all. It brought me back to the night that you finally kissed me for the first time..."

Perry finished chewing his next bite and shook his head grinning. "And I've felt those sparks in my heart every time I've kissed you since that night..."

When the waitstaff began serving coffee to the wedding guests, Paul stood up next to the newlyweds to make his speech as best man.

"I'd like your attention please for just a few moments." The guests and waitstaff all fell silent to listen to Paul. "As best man, I want to make sure that I finish my duties and propose a toast before we all leave here full of delicious food, good wine, and the best wedding cake I've ever tasted! Incidentally, Vincent, I hope that I can take a few more bites of that cake with me before I have to leave for the airport in an hour!" Vincent laughed and nodded.

Paul paused and cleared his throat. "I've never seen a couple more in love as my two dearest friends, Perry and Della, are. They truly fit the definition of soulmates and I'm proud to not only be part of this wedding today, but to be part of their lives... When I learned that they were going to be married here in Paris, I was happy for them because the most loving couple I know was going to tie the knot in one of the most romantic cities in the world."

He turned to Della. "Della, I've always liked teasing you like any big brother would tease his little sister. And as some of our close friends know, my pet name for you has always been ' _Beautiful'_. That's because you _are_ a beautiful woman inside and out. I love you, Della!"

Della smiled up at him and blew him a kiss.

Paul then turned to Perry putting a hand on his shoulder. "I hope you're paying attention to my little talk here, Perry, because as I mentioned earlier, my bond with Della is as solid as a big brother's would be. Treat her right and I won't have to knock your block off."

That line drew laughter from everyone before he continued. "I don't know why she puts up with you sometimes when you've got us both out at all hours of the day and night running down leads or information for some of your court cases. She's your wife now so you better take care of her like you vowed to earlier today..."

Perry smiled, his arm around Della pulling her closer, and nodded his head before Paul began to finish his speech. "All kidding aside, I just want to finish by saying that these two are my best friends in the world. I wish them nothing but happiness and good luck for the rest of their lives. Now before Perry tries to cross-examine me or get me to confess to a crime, I want you all to raise your glasses one more time, and toast the bride and groom!"

Once again, the wine glasses were clinked together in celebration of Perry and Della's new life together. Then, under Paul's direction, the guests all began to tap their glasses with silverware until Perry and Della stood before them and kissed.

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As the reception began to wind down, Marilyn assisted Della in the ladies room to change out of the wedding gown and back into the outfit she wore for the civil marriage ceremony. When she came out of the restaurant, the guests all gathered around the bride and groom as Paul brought the car around in front of the place to load them up. There were hugs, handshakes, and kisses all around as Perry and Della thanked them all for being part of their wedding day. As the guests all walked out onto the sidewalk, they tossed rice on the happy couple before they started to get into the car.

During the rice toss ceremony, Paul took the opportunity to take Julia aside and say his goodbye. They both promised to stay in touch with each other – especially when Paul invited her to visit him in Los Angeles. They both turned towards Perry and Della when they heard a commotion by the car.

"The bouquet, Della! Toss the bouquet!" Marie was trying to gather the single women around for Della to toss the flowers. " _Venez_ _ici_ , Julia! _Se presser_!"

The ladies assembled on the sidewalk and Della turned her back to toss her bouquet. Marie was able to snatch it out of the air – much to the dismay of Jimmy. But when he saw how delighted she was to catch the bouquet, he put his arm around her smiling while Paul and Vincent sighed their relief.

"Hey! What about the garter, Perry?" Jimmy tried to coax Perry into a ceremonial garter removal from the bride as he and Vincent gathered around Della. With a sly smirk on his face, Perry held up a hand to quiet them.

"Not so fast, gentlemen! I have already _removed_ the garter!" He held it over his head in his hand. "Stand back and I'll make the toss."

Perry shot the garter into the air as Vincent and Jimmy bumped into each other trying to nab the garter. But it was Paul whose height over the other two men was enough to snatch the garter out of their grasp.

"Better luck next time, men!" Paul grinned and stashed the garter in his coat pocket right away.

They all waved farewell as Perry and Della climbed into the back seat of the car. Paul closed the door behind them before he got in behind the wheel. He adjusted the rearview mirror and caught them in a very intense kiss as he began to drive away from the curb. "Get in as much kissing as you can while I'm your chauffeur! You're taking the wheel when I get to the airport!"

With good directions from Captain Lavigne, Paul managed to make it to the airport in plenty of time for his flight back to Los Angeles. The trio of friends stood outside of the car in the passenger drop-off zone to say their farewell. After placing his bags on the curb, Paul turned to Perry and Della – a box loaded with pieces of wedding cake in his hand.

"Well, I guess this is it, my friends. Have fun on your honeymoon... I'll see you back in LA in a few days. Don't forget, you promised to work on _my_ marriage situation..."

Perry reached to shake Paul's hand and gave him a quick embrace with it. "When we get back, you will be our first client! I promise!"

Della stood off to the side as Perry continued. "We can't thank you enough for being here for us, Paul. I don't think things would have turned out as well if you weren't here to help out."

"It's been my pleasure! And speaking of pleasure..." Paul handed the cake box to Perry. "Hold this for me while I kiss the bride!"

While Perry stood off to the side, Paul gathered Della in his arms, dipped her back and planted a big kiss on her lips.

Paul brought a giggling Della back upright on her feet. "I've been waiting a long time to do that!" He took the cake box back from an astonished Perry and turned to pick up his bags. "Au revoir, my friends! Don't break those vows – oh, and make sure you keep her fed!" With a quick wink, Paul picked up his bags and walked away.

Perry put an arm around Della and just shook his head grinning as they watched Paul walk into the airport terminal.

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The drive to Tours in the Loire River Valley took Perry and Della just over two hours. The explicit directions from Vincent brought the newlyweds right to the door of their honeymoon cottage. Perry drove up near the door and assisted Della out of the car through his door. She stood back and admired the exterior of the quaint little cottage.

"What a beautiful home! I can't believe that Vincent's friend is going to sell it..."

Perry unloaded their bags from the trunk of the car. "It's very impressive looking from the outside." Holding three of their bags, he began to walk to the front door of the home. "Stay right where you are..."

He unlocked the door and brought the bags into the home before he walked back to the other two bags by the car. When Della tried to grab one of the bags to assist him, he stopped her. "Just stay right there. I've got this..."

Perry got all of their luggage inside the cottage and then returned to Della who remained by the car. "Now it's time for the groom to carry the bride across the threshold!"

While Della giggled and put her arms around his neck, Perry scooped her up in his arms and walked her into the cottage then managed to close the door behind him with his foot. They shared a very heated kiss before he gently lowered her to her feet and turned to look at the inside of the cottage.

Della was in awe and walked further into the home. "Once again, you managed to find an amazing place..." She took Perry's hand and they walked towards the kitchen. "I hope the kitchen is adequate for you to prepare the honeymoon dinner you've been bragging about all week."

"I should have known you'd want to check out the kitchen first... I'm more interested in the bedroom for the honeymoon night..."

Della playfully punched his arm. "I'll remind you, Monsieur Mason, we've been _honeymooning_ for several years already..." Her impish grin quickly got his attention as she batted her eyelashes at him.

He pulled her close and kissed her. "You're flirting again... You better stop that now or this tour of the house is going right to the bedroom."

"Control yourself, Counselor. We need to unpack... And you promised that we'd walk back to that small cafe that we passed on the way here. I think a nice cup of coffee would do us wonders after that long drive..."

"First let me make sure that Vincent had the right ingredients stocked in the kitchen so I can prepare our dinner later."

"Are you going to give me a hint of what you'll be making, Chef Mason?" She stood on her tiptoes to try and look over his shoulder as he opened the refrigerator to look inside.

Perry quickly closed the refrigerator door and ushered her out of the kitchen. "You, madame, need to move on to the bedroom and handle the unpacking of the bags. I'll be glad to carry them into the bedroom for you..."

After they changed out of their wedding day attire and finished moving in, they left the cottage to tour the neighborhood and grab a cup of coffee. They walked around the neighborhood for a few hours taking in some of the sights listed in a tour book. After plotting their list of things to see before they would have to end their trip to France, they returned to the cottage so Perry could start preparing their dinner.

Perry was in the kitchen rolling up his sleeves when Della walked in and began tying an apron around her waist. She was met by a grin on Perry's face as he shook his head.

"What are you doing, my Madame? The kitchen belongs to me tonight."

"I'm putting on an apron to cover this nice dress so I don't spill anything on it...Now are you going to tell me what you're preparing so I can help?"

"No. I want to surprise you..."

She stood next to him at the large center island counter and began looking over the seasonings and spices that he had gathered. "These spices are used as some sort of dry rub mixture for meat."

She reached for more ingredients that Perry had off to the side but he stopped her by playfully tapping her hand before she could grab onto the other components.

"I'm going to ask you to leave the kitchen if you don't stop interfering..." He placed his hands on her shoulders and gave her a quick kiss on her brow.

"I don't see why you can't give me a little hint at what you're preparing..."

He began walking her out of the kitchen. "You'll find out soon enough... Now why don't you go in the living room and read a tour book or something?"

Della dipped beneath his grasp and got back to the counter before he could grab her from behind. Even though he began tickling her from behind she managed to get a good look at what he was preparing.

"Aha! I thought I smelled fresh mint!" She was squirming and giggling as she spied the other ingredients. "You're making rack of lamb in mint sauce, aren't you?"

Perry smiled and stopped tickling her. "It's hard to keep anything a secret from you... Well, now that you know the menu, why don't you open some wine? After that you can start chopping up some of the mint and that parsley for our watercress salad..."

It wasn't long before the lamb was in the oven and the lyonnaise potatoes were simmering in the frying pan. While Della set the table, Perry sat back and sipped wine just waiting for the lamb to roast.

"You know what? Paul really did a nice speech as my best man. And his explanation to our friends about the chapel wedding scam went really well, didn't it?"

Della finished putting the candles in their holders on the table. "He really is a best man... Do you really think we can help him with his marriage situation?"

"It might take a little bit of research, but I think we can get an annulment if that's what he really wants."

"I got the impression that he was thinking of relocating to Paris they way he was talking to Julia."

Perry thought it over. "Nah! Our wandering boy wanders, but I don't see him leaving LA and all the excitement there..."

"I suppose we'll just need to figure out his marriage situation first..." Della paused and sat down at the table to sip more wine. "And now we have to wonder about our own marriage situation..."

"What about it? We're legally married as far as I can tell. I read the fine print on the marriage certificate. It's a very legal document – at least it is in France! I'll research that when we get back to LA in a few days. If I find that our French civil union is not recognized in America, I'll just have to find a way to make it legal! I'll find a loophole. Or, if I don't, we'll just have to get married again!" Perry was grinning.

"I think I've had enough marriage ceremonies for a lifetime... We could just leave it at that couldn't we? We've said our vows to each other. And I meant every word, by the way... All of the wedding ceremonies in the world won't change the way I feel about you." She stood up and walked over to Perry to stand behind him and rub his shoulders. "Face it – you're stuck with me forever no matter what's written on a marriage certificate!"

Perry tilted his head slightly and pulled her hands down to his chest until she rested her head on his shoulder. "No matter what, you'll always be my girl..." He turned to stand up and kissed her hands. "I think dinner is ready. Let me get you seated, Madame!" After she was seated, the lights were dimmed and the table candles were lit for their first dinner as husband and wife.

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After enjoying their dinner, together they cleared the table off and Della began washing the dishes. Perry tried to get her to sit down and enjoy more wine.

"I'll clean up the dishes, Miss Street! You should sit down and relax..." He tried to walk her over to the table to sit down.

"The chef should not have to do the dishes. I don't mind washing dishes at all, Monsieur Mason!" She paused. "And what's this ' _Miss Street_ ' stuff? Here in France, shouldn't I be _Mrs. Mason_?"

Perry sighed. "Right you are – again... Please be seated, Mrs. Mason, while I clean up the kitchen. Then I'll prepare the crepes suzette for dessert..."

She stood up and walked back to the kitchen sink with him. "As long as I'm in France as Mrs. Mason, I should do my wifely duties. Please let me wash the dishes..."

"Alright. But I'll dry them like any good husband would do. And for the record, wifely duties take place in other parts of the house besides the kitchen, you know."

Della chuckled and raised a brow towards him as she soaked the plates in the dish water. "If you're referring to the bedroom, those husband duties of yours are especially important there, too!"

She then paused and thought about her new name – Della Mason. "I just thought of something. If we're only legally married in France, what name do I use back in the States? Am I Della Mason or am I still Della Street?"

"Hmm. That's a good question. What do you want it to be?"

"I'm not sure. It depends on how the tabloids will react once they find out that I'm legally Della Mason – but only in France..."

"One solution is to remain Della Street. You've been known by that name professionally for so many years." He thought about it further. "In LA, just about anything goes for names – for example, actors and actresses are known by their stage names professionally, but in private legal matters, they use their legal names. Remember when the tabloids couldn't figure out who Archibald Leach was when they were trying to dig up dirt on Cary Grant?"

"Good point. I suppose we can decide that when we get back home and look at how legal our civil ceremony was... I just don't want this to hurt your professional reputation..."

"I'm not one bit concerned about my reputation. We'll do whatever makes you comfortable Miss Della Street Mason!"

Della finished scrubbing the dishes and while Perry dried the last of them, she complimented his culinary talent. "That dinner was even better tasting than the meal we enjoyed in a restaurant the first night we were here. If you ever want to stop practicing law, you could always open up your own restaurant!"

"I can't do that! My meals are only meant for you and our close friends to enjoy. Besides, if I was off cooking all evening in a restaurant, I'd be wondering what you are doing all of those evenings by yourself."

A loud knock at the front door interrupted them. Perry put the last plate away in the cupboard as he looked at his watch.

"I wonder who that could be? It's almost eight o'clock..." He put his towel down and walked to the door to find out.

When he opened the door, he saw five men on the doorstep dressed in white jackets with black bowties.

"Bonjour..."

The man in the front of the group smiled and replied. "Bonjour. I apologize that my English is not so good. You are Monsieur Perry Mason, oui?"

"Uh, oui. I am Perry Mason..." Perry looked beyond the doorstep wondering if there were others in the area besides them.

The man nodded enthusiastically to the other men then turned back to Perry. "I am Emile and this is my jazz quintet." He brought out a piece of paper to read. "We are here at the request of Monsieur _Paul Drake_ to play music for your wedding dance. And Monsieur Drake says I must tell you that he included a large – how you say, _gratuity_ so you should keep your wallet in your pocket."

By this time, Della joined Perry at the door. He smiled at Emile's comments from Paul and turned to her. "Did you hear that? They're here at Paul's request to play dancing music!"

"Well, just don't stand there. Let's bring them in!" Della stepped back gesturing for them to enter while Perry held the door open.

Emile and his men walked into the cottage and moved around some living room furniture to set up their equipment while Perry and Della stood back and watched. Within moments they had fine-tuned their instruments, and Emile announced that they were ready to play songs from a list provided by Paul.

"S'il vous plait, Monsieur et Madame Mason..." He gestured for them to come together for their first dance. "Enjoy – now we begin!" Emile dimmed the lights in the room and the candles on the dinner table glowed in the background.

Perry brought Della into his arms as the men played _La Vie en Rose_ to start. Smiling and gazing into each other's eyes, they glided around the open space on the living room floor – Perry humming the tune as they danced. When that song ended, they clapped and right away the quintet started playing their next tune.

"Oh, I love this song!" Della was delighted but couldn't remember the name of the song. "Wasn't this a song in a musical? It starred Maurice Chevalier and Jeanette MacDonald!"

Perry had the answer right away and continued to whirl her around the dance floor. "It was in ' _Love Me Tonight_ ' - it's called ' _Isn't it Romantic?'_."

"That's it exactly! It took place in Paris! I can't believe Paul chose these songs!"

The men played on. With only the first few notes of the next song, Perry named it. "Moonlight Serenade – one of Glenn Miller's finest!"

Della was still amazed at Paul's playlist. "He's known for years that this was the first song we ever danced to..."

Perry pulled her closer and shook his head grinning. "Paul _really is_ our best man! I can't believe he arranged something like this! Are you as happy as I am right now?"

Della rested her head on Perry's chest – her right hand still clutching his left hand, their rings touching. "I'm _very_ happy right now... This is the best time I've had away on a vacation with you _ever_! I almost don't want it to end..."

They applauded after Moonlight Serenade and quickly sipped more wine before coming together again for the next song.

Della was still excited when the music began again. "I just love Frank Sinatra's version of this song! You have this album in your collection don't you?"

Perry looked up and thought about it for a second. "I believe I do!" He softly began singing the lyrics in Della's ear. "Take my heart completely, treat me as you may... I am yours forever anyway. All I have is yours to share. Anytime, anyplace, anywhere..."

Della blinked back tears of joy. "Your voice gives me goosebumps when you sing to me..."

As the band continued playing, Perry and Della made a game of guessing the songs, and each taking a verse to sing along.

With the introduction of the next song, Della began. "The very thought of you makes my heart sing. Like an April breeze, on the wings of Spring. And you appear in all your splendor – my one and only love..."

Perry continued. "The shadows fall and spread their mystic charms. In the hush of night while you're in my arms. I feel your lips so warm and tender. My one and only love..."

By the last verse of the song, they sang together. "You fill my eager heart with such desire. Every kiss you give, sets my soul on fire. I give myself in sweet surrender. My one and only love..."

When the band began playing ' _Embraceable You_ ', Della reminisced about dancing with Perry to that song somewhere long ago.

"This song brings back memories. I just don't recall _where_ we were dancing when you dipped me at the end and I almost broke the heel of my shoe..."

"Hmm. Was it the Palladium? Or maybe the Zenda Ballroom? I don't remember that you almost broke a heel."

"You were known to get pretty lively with your dance moves for those Gershwin tunes... " Della giggled. "I think that you were trying to act like Fred Astaire!"

Perry grinned. "All I know is that it's always nice slow dancing with you – especially when the music is soft and I know all of the words to the songs..."

She sighed. "Ditto, Counselor..."

They danced for over an hour straight and by the time Emile announced that they were playing their last song, they were holding each other even closer – oblivious to the announcement. Their dance steps slowed to more of a sway and when the song was over, they were in their own little world of bliss, still holding each other closely – Perry softly singing the words to the Hoagy Carmichael tune in Della's ear.

The musicians packed up their equipment, occasionally glancing over at the couple still swaying to music playing only in their own little world. As Emile and the last band member began walking out of the door, Emile shrugged his shoulders.

"That is a couple very much in love. We no longer play the music, but it plays on in their hearts."

Della's eyes were closed – her head resting on Perry's shoulder. Their pinky fingers were curled together with the shine of their wedding rings glittering in the candlelight. Perry was still softly singing.

"It's not the pale moon that excites me - that thrills and delights me. Oh no – it's just the nearness of you... It isn't your sweet conversation – that brings this sensation. Oh no – it's just the nearness of you... When you're in my arms and I feel you so close to me... All my wildest dreams come true... I need no soft lights to enchant me – if you'll only grant me – the right... To hold you ever so tight... And to feel the nearness of you..."

With one more quick glance at the newlywed couple – seeing just a cozy silhouette of the two lovers dancing in the glow of candlelight, Emile walked out smiling and closed the door behind him.

 **The End**

Thank you for your reviews and comments throughout this story. I hope you have enjoyed this tale. If you see a few loose ends not completely tied up, it's because I have another story in the works that will do so. I hope to post _TCOT Senseless Separation_ in the near future. It will cover several events in the lives of Perry, Della, Paul and other characters in the Perry Mason series up to the TV movie " _Perry Mason Returns_ ". Thanks again for reading!


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